My job as coordinator of the entire election process and the job of the ministry is to certify the correctness and fairness of the machines and machine voting. We will do everything possible to open this process so that Bulgarians have no doubt that their vote was counted as it was cast. This was stated to bTV by Ivan Vassilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation.
According to him, the opponents of machine voting are those who are good at holding elections on paper and manipulating paper: “We have all seen how paper voting is manipulated. The machine can give us a more honest way of counting votes, it will eliminate the crossing out of ballots with a pen, which would make them invalid.“
He noted that the CEC has launched a public procurement, and the companies that will show up and win will check the functioning of the machines, replace the parts with expired warranties, so that we have working machines for the elections.
“I will do everything possible for all Bulgarian citizens to be involved in the entire process. This is the first time I am participating in the organization of the elections. Together we will open this entire process for observation“, the minister promised.
Regarding the SIGMA public procurement transparency system, Vassilev commented: “The first version, which we presented in the first month of our inauguration, is a step towards transparency. The system is about to be upgraded so that citizens have more tools to monitor how public funds are spent. The system is being used constantly - we are reporting over 30,000 visits per day. There will be a connection with the Commercial Register, as well as the declarations submitted by public figures. This will monitor whether there is any intertwining between such persons and winning public procurement contracts. In version 3, it will be ensured that public procurement contracts are not written in a way that guarantees the victory of one specific company. In version 4, we will monitor whether companies do not artificially inflate the prices at which they sell goods and services to the state. However, the latest versions are related to legal changes.“
“The digital wallet is the identity of Bulgarian citizens - to verify themselves before the state electronically; when you want to use electronic services, prove that it is you and the state can verify this. For example - when you file your tax return, when you want to make an appointment with your GP, change your ID card or use the services of the traffic police. At the moment, you need a PIN, you also have to log in to thousands of sites. Now in the ministry we are developing the digital wallet so that it can be accessible by the end of the year. The next step is access to these services, because now they are fragmented across sites with multiple passwords. We will offer a single mobile application and website, and by identifying with the digital wallet, communication with the administration will become quick and convenient“, he explained.
The minister shared that he found a shrug of the shoulders and the response “the project is nowhere“, when he came to power. According to him, these are wasted time and opportunities for Bulgaria to lead and be a good example.
“In the second week, we proposed a new organizational regulation, from 19 directorates became 8, now the reduction of over 20% of the ministry's staff begins. Over the past two or three months, we have been monitoring who is doing their job - is there proactivity, is they quickly completing tasks on time, or is there slacking off, there is no work, they say “there is no information here“. Those who are identified as those who are not doing their job will be asked to leave“, the Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation also announced.
He proudly announced that he receives answers to his questions from robots, including the robot Robert.