section_path: Background/Implementation of Miru Systems/Public bidding for the automated voting system
section_name: Public bidding for the automated voting system
paragraph_text: Public bidding for the automated voting system
  
  On December 14, COMELEC conducted its first public bidding for a contract for the full automation system with the transparency audit count (FASTrAC) project amounting to a maximum of ₱ 18.827 billion. The South Korean firm Miru Systems was the sole bidder for the contract in the first round of bidding; its bid for the contract was rejected due to issues with its associated documents.
  
  Later, on December 25, 2023, election watchdog Democracy Watch Philippines urged COMELEC to review Miru Systems' bid for the FASTrAC, expressing concern over electoral failures in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq whose elections Miru Systems oversaw. The company denied such failures, asserting that the two countries had "continued to show trust" in the company.
  
  The second round of bidding was conducted on January 8, 2024, in which six companies expressed interest in placing a bid. Of the six companies, only Miru Systems submitted a bid for the contract. In its second bid, the company was deemed eligible in its bid after fully complying with the required documents. COMELEC began its post-qualification evaluation of Miru Systems on January 23.
  
  COMELEC unanimously awarded the contract for the lease of automated vote counting machines (VCMs) to Miru Systems on February 21. The contract, amounting to ₱17.9 billion, was finalized on March 11.