Election systems ready for Saeima vote, officials warn glitches remain possible

With less than two weeks until Latvia’s Saeima elections, all critical work on the election platform has been completed and the systems have been tested, LSM reported. Officials said a special command centre would coordinate technical specialists, the Central Election Commission and security agencies during voting, but unexpected disruptions could not be completely ruled out.

Smart Administration and Regional Development Minister Edgars Tavars said the final report from the election platform readiness working group had been received. It confirmed that all critical tasks had been completed and that the Central Election Commission had accepted the systems.

Load and security tests have been carried out, while all shortcomings identified so far have been fixed and tested again. Officials did not provide full guarantees, but said their confidence in the systems’ readiness was significantly greater than last year.

Work will continue during early voting and on election day, October 3. The State Digital Development Agency, the Central Election Commission, system developers and security experts will cooperate so that they can respond immediately to any technical problems.

The arrangement is intended to prevent a repeat of last year’s situation, when the institutions involved were unable to act quickly and in a coordinated manner.

The election platform’s development was also affected by a criminal case involving information technology procurement. After the case was uncovered, some of the work had to be redone and adapted to a new solution, requiring additional time and funding.

Central Election Commission Chair Māris Zviedris said preparations for polling station commissions had begun earlier this year than last year. More than 99% of polling station workers have already undergone training or familiarisation.