The Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE) admitted this week that it relaxed the tender rules for the rental of voting machines, after failing in the first attempt to purchase the equipment. The admission was made by the TSJE's Director of Administration and Finance, Daniel Echagüe. According to Echagüe, the first tender was “rigid” and required the purchase of the machines, which led to the disqualification of the Consórcio Comitia MSA, which only operates in rentals. With the change to leasing, the consortium met the requirements and won the new tender.
The case took on scandalous proportions because the disqualification of the Consórcio Comitia MSA in the first call was not due to mere formalism. According to the report of the TSJE Evaluation Committee, recorded on page 153, the consortium delivered, on July 15, 2025, two boxes: one with batteries and another with “accessories”. Two days later, when opening the accessories box for technical tests, the evaluators found an additional voting machine not requested. The consortium claimed it was just a “shell” to transport a screen, but, with permission to take the alleged accessory to the testing area, the representatives replaced the screen of one of the five machines originally presented in May 2025.
The Evaluation Committee recorded that the consortium's action aimed to obtain an “advantage” over competitors. However, the TSJE did not apply sanctions: it did not report the case to the National Directorate of Public Procurement (DNCP), did not enforce the performance bond, and instead changed the rules to award the contract for the rental of 18,000 equipment, worth nearly US$ 35 million.
The DNCP's Legal Affairs Directorate, in an opinion dated April 16, 2026, concluded that the screen replacement “would have the ability to influence the technical assessment of the committee” and recommended sending the case to the Summary Department to investigate responsibilities based on the Public Procurement Law (Law No. 7021/2022).
Another indication of steering pointed out is the change in technical specifications between the two tenders. In the first, canceled one, a minimum 21-inch polychromatic capacitive touch LCD screen was required. In the leasing tender, the requirement was reduced to “21-inch polychromatic touch LCD screen”, eliminating the word “capacitive”. The Consórcio Comitia MSA's P6 model uses infrared (IR) multitouch technology, not capacitive. In its offer, the consortium argued that IR technology has advantages such as greater resistance to breakage and lower sensitivity to cleaning conditions, although it is “a little less precise”.