Firstly, NOSi reaffirms its unwavering confidence in the professionalism and dedication of its employees, who work tirelessly and competently for the benefit of the institution and the country. NOSi reassures its team of its steadfast commitment to continuing the work it has pursued for more than 25 years in support of national development.
Regarding the System for the Disclosure of Partial Electoral Results, NOSi notes the CNE's decision, which states that "in these Municipal Elections, suspicions have been raised by a candidate regarding NOSi's involvement, casting doubt on the credibility and reliability of the System for the Disclosure of Partial Electoral Results, as well as on NOSi's neutrality and impartiality." NOSi firmly protests the CNE's position for two key reasons:
a) The voting and tabulation of election results are entirely manual processes, falling under the exclusive responsibility of the polling stations. These stations are also tasked with entering the results and uploading a photograph of the minutes (edital) generated at their respective locations onto the mobile devices provided to the Presiding Officers. Once the data is entered into these devices, it is automatically synchronized with the central system for publication. Importantly, there is no further intervention after the data has been entered, validated, and transmitted by the polling stations.
b) For over 14 years, this process has operated successfully, consistently benefiting from technological advancements in security, interoperability, high availability, and efficiency, alongside continuous enhancements to the user experience and usability of the electoral portal. Over the years, this system has ensured complete alignment between the provisional and final results of all elections conducted in the country, whether local, legislative, or presidential.
Given this history, NOSi firmly considers any doubts cast on the institution's neutrality and impartiality in releasing the provisional election results on December 1st to be both unusual and baseless. Such claims appear solely intended to tarnish the institution’s reputation, credibility, and its nationally and internationally recognized technical independence.
Regarding the CNE's position on the complaint it received from a citizen, via WhatsApp, which includes a link to a Facebook post that contained “an image of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Information Systems Operations Core, Eng. Carlos Tavares de Pina, accompanied by Minister Olavo Correia and other people and an image associated with a video published on the page of candidate Abrão Vicente, where the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NOSi supposedly participated in campaign activities with said candidate".
NOSi believes that the resolution provides no evidence that Carlos Tavares Pina, in the exercise of his duties as Chairman of the Board of Directors, failed to ensure equal treatment and impartiality in any intervention by NOSi in the electoral procedures, or allowed himself to be influenced by personal subjective considerations or interests unrelated to the public interest, which could undermine the impartiality and neutrality of NOSi's service provision.
Finally, the decision for NOSi to “ensure conditions for the presence of DGAPE and CNE at the NOSi Operations Center after the polling stations close, to monitor the process of releasing partial election results” is accepted by NOSi. The institution clarifies that members of DGAPE and CNE have always been present at the Operations Center, and that both national and international observers have even visited the facility.
As such, NOSi, as the entity contracted by DGAPE to provide services for the electoral process, will create all the organizational and logistical conditions necessary to accommodate CNE and DGAPE representatives full-time at the Operations Center for the dissemination of the partial election results on Sunday, December 1, 2024.
Praia, November 30, 2024
The Board of Directors of NOSi, E. P. E.
