IEBC has reopened the race for its Sh6.5 billion election technology contract with a tougher set of conditions, requiring suppliers to meet higher standards for biometric devices, scanners and system testing before they can secure the deal.
The fresh tender published on Thursday replaces the procurement document issued on August 11 and gives interested companies until October 2 to submit their bids. The previous deadline had been September 1.
The changes follow a decision by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, which ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to revise, explain and amend parts of the earlier tender after a challenge by Galadirel Investments Limited.
IEBC is looking for suppliers of a new Integrated Elections Management System that will be used in the next General Election, with the commission saying the technology currently in use has become obsolete.
Under the new requirements, companies supplying fingerprint sensors for the biometric kits must meet both FBI PIV IQS and India’s STQC certification standards.
This marks a shift from the initial tender, which allowed bidders to provide equipment certified under either of the two standards.
The new conditions therefore require prospective suppliers to show that their fingerprint equipment satisfies both certification systems before they can qualify.
IEBC has also expanded the specifications covering scanners to be included in the biometric kits.
The devices must scan A4 documents, identity cards and passports. They are also required to automatically align documents and detect instances where more than one document is fed into the scanner at the same time.
Every document scanned through the equipment must further be produced as an encrypted PDF.
Another major change gives IEBC a greater role in physically checking and testing the technology proposed by the company that emerges as the best-evaluated bidder.
The earlier tender had stated that the commission would “not carry out tests” at the post-qualification stage to establish whether the proposed system met the technical requirements.
The revised document removes that position and provides for testing before the final contract is awarded.
The company ranked as the best-evaluated bidder will now have to go through conformity tests, eligibility checks and due diligence before IEBC can proceed with the award.
This means that passing the initial document-based assessment will not by itself guarantee the contract. The preferred bidder must also show through testing that its proposed technology satisfies the requirements set by the electoral agency.
The commission has meanwhile added further conditions for the Online Voter Pre-Registration System.
The system must support QR-code scanning, automatically fill in biographic details and provide a secure way of exchanging data.
IEBC has also specified that suppliers must provide post-warranty support for 24 months.
The revisions stem from a procurement dispute involving Galadirel Investments Limited, which questioned several parts of the original tender.
The company raised issues concerning the technical specifications, how bids would be evaluated, hardware requirements and ownership of the technology.
In its determination, the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board found “material deficiencies” in the original tender.
The board also concluded that some of the requirements were not sufficiently clear and objective.
It said the shortcomings could affect fairness, transparency, equality and competition in the public procurement process.
Rather than ordering IEBC to scrap the procurement altogether, the board directed the commission to address the disputed sections, make the necessary clarifications and publish a new tender.
IEBC has now incorporated the changes into the fresh procurement document as it seeks to acquire the election technology it says is needed for the next General Election.