JARIĆ: WE WILL INITIATE COURT PROCEEDINGS AFTER APPEAL DECISION REJECTED

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 21 /SRNA/ – Planet Soft owner Vedran Jarić announced the launch of an administrative dispute before the Court of BiH seeking an interim measure, after their appeal against the decision of the BiH Central Election Commission /CEC/ to award the procurement of election technologies to Smartmatic was rejected.

Jarić claims that individuals close to the authorities in the Federation of BiH and the OHR offered him BAM 2 million to withdraw from the entire deal, which he refused, after which he said pressure from the OHR began. He stated that both the ruling parties and the opposition in Republika Srpska must not accept Smartmatic performing this job, claiming that the company is under sanctions of the new US administration and has been convicted of criminal activity in the United States. "We are calling on the Prosecutor's Office and SIPA to get involved in this process and seize the tender documentation, because Smartmatic does not meet the tender requirements," Jarić said at a press conference in Banja Luka. He noted that Smartmatic had requested an increase in the budget for the first tender, while Planet Soft appeared with a large consortium and submitted what he described as the most serious and most favorable offer. Jarić added that their appeal against the CEC decision was rejected by the BiH Appeals Office, stressing that it was known from the very beginning that the tender for Smartmatic was under the patronage of Christian Schmidt. Planet Soft board member Aleksandar Milinković said that for the first time in the history of public procurement, a contract was awarded to a company that did not even submit a bid. He pointed to what he described as the unprofessional conduct of the CEC, which allegedly increased the tender value by BAM eight million during an ongoing procedure. "The bidder was initially Smartmatic Sarajevo, but the contract was awarded to a group of bidders, a consortium. The CEC did not include an explanation for the abnormally low price in the selection report. They also did not state that they had requested an explanation", Milinković said. He added that Smartmatic is not in the VAT system, which he claims will result in BiH having to pay an additional BAM 13 million in VAT.