Belgium inks 10-year deal with Smartmatic

BRUSSELS — Belgium’s FPS Interior has chosen Smartmatic as the technology provider covering a period of 10 years to supply its innovative automated election systems starting with the local elections slated in October this year.

The advanced voting system created by Smartmatic and customized specifically to support Belgian and European regulations involves the use of a touch-based electronic voting machine with a 17-inch high-resolution screen.

“We are thrilled to have been selected as the service and technology provider for the elections in Belgium, a pioneer nation regarding the use of electronic voting. Along with the Belgian authorities, we have been working very hard to develop and offer a new and improved state-of-the-art electronic voting system that fully complies with all requirements, guaranteeing the most secure, reliable and auditable elections. We feel honored to have been given this responsibility,” said Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica.

Selecting Smartmatic was the result of a meticulous evaluation process (including a certification by PricewaterhouseCoopers) that lasted for more than three years, and whose key milestone was a public field test organized on Oct. 27 last year.

The test was performed in cooperation with the Belgian federal government, Flanders region and Brussels-Capital region wherein authorities evaluated the system in real-time conditions and received direct feedback from voters and poll workers.

According to different surveys performed following the event, a big majority of participants manifested a highly positive perception of the system in terms of simplicity and ease of use.

Smartmatic has successfully deployed its versatile electronic voting technology in multiple electoral processes in many countries, among them the United States and in Latin America, and the Caribbean, accurately registering and counting more than 1.5 billion audited votes.

Its advanced technology has been widely recognized by the most important international election monitors and experts.

In the Philippines, Smartmatic provided the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that were used in the first automated presidential elections in May 2010.