Election Commission (EC) officials, including IDEA (Phase 2) Project Director Brig Gen Mohammad Azizur Rahman Siddiqui, faced intense scrutiny at a Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) hearing, failing to provide satisfactory explanations for alleged irregularities in a multi-crore tender for national biometric data management.
Instead of addressing procedural bypasses, officials attempted to shift the blame onto technical constraints of the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system. The hearing was conducted by BPPA review panel on Tuesday, following an appeal filed on 7 June by Synesis IT Ltd.
The firm alleged that contract for the “Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services (IDEA) Project (2nd Phase)” was awarded to Dynamic Solution Innovators (DSI) Ltd. through a flawed process that bypassed mandatory procedural steps.
Following these allegations, BPPA stayed the final contract execution on 15 June and scheduled the hearing for 22 June. During proceedings, IDEA project officials maintained that no errors were made on their part, asserting they expected the e-GP portal to automatically notify bidders.
However, BPPA review panel, consisting of three independent judges, questioned why EC failed to follow its own Request for Proposal (RFP) documents or contact the e-GP authorities for clarification when it became clear that bidders were not receiving information.
Specifically, Clause 42.1 of the “Instruction to Consultants” (ITC) in the RFP legally mandates that all successful consultants be informed of their technical scores via the e-GP system and requires a minimum of one week’s notice before the meeting to open financial proposals.
Sources stated that the EC representatives could not provide a logical explanation for violating these self-imposed tender conditions.
The tender involves critical technical work for Bangladesh Voter Registration System (BVRS) and Automatic Biometric Identification System (ABIS). Under the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method used, 80 per cent of the score is determined by technical evaluation and 20 per cent by the financial proposal.
Shohorab Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of Synesis IT Ltd, alleged in the appeal that the EC violated the obligation to negotiate with highest-ranked institution.
He further noted that the EC issued the Notification of Award (NOA) to DSI in a “hurried manner” on 24 May, just hours after opening the financial proposals and immediately before the Eid holidays. This timing restricted the seven-day legal window for other bidders to file appeals.
Moreover, Synesis IT’s financial bid of Tk19.69 crore was lower than DSI’s Tk20.34 crore, meaning the undisclosed technical scores were the deciding factor. Crucially, the e-GP portal shows no records in the Negotiation, Debriefing, and Clarification tabs, indicating these mandatory steps were entirely omitted.
During the hearing, EC representatives attempted to justify their decision by claiming Synesis IT had performed unsatisfactorily in a previous project, though the judges dismissed this as a separate matter.
A Synesis IT official remarked that EC officials ignored the Public Procurement Rules 2025, and their own RFP documents.
While some EC officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted they presented all necessary evidence, a senior BPPA official stated that a verdict from the independent judges is expected within four to five days.
The decision will be submitted to the BPPA in a sealed envelope, and its contents will remain confidential until the formal release.
