ELECTORAL COMMISSION
                                        ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
        
[Last amended: 20/10/2020]
    This Agreement governs the rights and obligations of you, ("the
                                        Supplier") and the Electoral Commission ("IEC") in respect of Quotes
                                        submitted via the IEC e-Procurement website ("the website"). 
    PART 1
                                        INTERPRETATION
    1 Definitions
                                    In these eProcurement Terms the following terms shall have the following meaning:
                                      "Access code" means the supplier selected username and
  password required for log in;
  "Agreement" means these eProcurement terms read with the
  standard Electoral Commission procurement terms;
  "Auction" means the process where bids are made on an
  request for quotation/bid via the website;
  "Auction site" means the section of the website requiring an
  access code where auctions are conducted;
  "Bid" means the offer for the supply of goods or services
  specified in the bid;
  "Bid criteria" means the specified criteria applied by the Electoral
  Commission to calculate the bid score;
  "Bid decrement" means the specified minimum amount by which
  the bid price can be lowered by a supplier;
  "Bid period" means the period from which an auction opens
  until the closing date;
  "Bid price" means the price stipulated in the bid for the
  supply of goods or services;
  "Bid score" means the score derived for a particular bid
  based on the bid criteria;
  "CSD" means the Central Supplier Database;
  "Closing date"means the date and time when an auction comes
  to a close, as specified;
    "Disabled"
    means, in respect
  of a person, a permanent impairment of a physical, intellectual, or sensory
  function, which results in restricted, or lack of, ability to perform an
  activity in the manner, or within the range, considered normal for a human
  being;
    "Electronic signature" means an electronic signature as
  defined in applicable legislation and includes the access code;
    "Goods or services" means the goods or services on which
  bids are made in an auction;
    "Guest" means any visitor to the website who is not a
  supplier;
    "Historically Disadvantaged Individual (HDI)" means a South
  African citizen - who,
    (1) due to the apartheid policy that had been in place, had no franchise in
  national elections prior to the introduction of the Constitution of the
  Republic of South Africa,1983 (Act No 110 of 1983) or the Constitution of the
  Republic of South Africa,1993 (Act No 200 of 1993) ("the Interim
  Constitution"); and / or
    (2) who is a female; and / or
    (3) who has a disability:
    Provided that a person who obtained South African citizenship on or after the
  coming to effect of the Interim Constitution, is deemed not to be an HDI;
    "Electoral Commission system" means the information
  technology infrastructure of the information system underlying online
  bidding, owned, leased or managed by the Electoral Commission;
    "Information system" means a system for generating, sending,
  receiving, storing, displaying or otherwise processing bids;
    "Leading bid" means the bid with the highest bid score at
  the time of the closing date;
    "Preferential Procurement Regulations" means the regulations
  issued in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act No. 5 Of
  2000;
    "Online" means via any information system used for online
  bidding, from time to time;
    "Online bidding" means the facility provided by the Electoral
  Commission to Suppliers to participate in Auctions via the website;
    "Previously Disadvantaged Individual (PDI)" who due to the
  apartheid policy that had been in place, had no franchise in national
  elections prior to the introduction of the Constitution of the Republic of
  South Africa,1983 (Act No 110 of 1983) or the Constitution of the Republic of
  South Africa,1993 (Act No 200 of 1993) ("the Interim
  Constitution");
    "Requirements of form" means any requirement in the Standard
  Electoral Commission procurement terms or applicable legislation for
  documents, writing, signatures, communications, correspondence or actions to
  be executed or performed in a certain physical form;
    "Bid" means a request for bids from the Electoral Commission
  to suppliers to make and offer to the Electoral Commission for the supply of
  goods or services;
    "Specified" means displayed on or via the website or in the
  bid;
    "Standard Electoral Commission procurement terms" means the Electoral
  Commission standard procurement terms and conditions applicable to all bids
  (via the website or otherwise), consisting of the following:
    "Submit"means the submission of
  information by the supplier to the Electoral Commission through the Electoral
  Commission system and includes the clicking of any icon or hyperlink on the
  website or functionality on the supplier's Internet browser which transmits
  information to the Electoral Commission;
  "Supplier" means a person duly registered and authorised to
  use online bidding;
  "Bid" means an electronic quote for the supply of specified
  goods and/or services bid;
  "Website" means the Electoral Commission eProcurement
  website, including the auction site.
  "Winning bid" means the bid to which the bid the Electoral
  Commission awarded a contract/purchase order in terms of clause 10; 
[Terms not defined herein are defined in the standard Electoral Commission
  procurement terms]
    2
  Acceptance
This Agreement is concluded between the parties on the occurrence of the
  first of the following events:
    (a)
  completion of any application for access to online bidding;
    (b)
  submission of a bid; or
    (c)
  whenever use is made of online bidding in any manner or form.
    3 Registration and
  Approval
  3.1 Suppliers who are registered on the National Treasury Central Supplier
  Database (CSD) are required to apply to the Electoral Commission for access
  to online bidding and to complete such documents or provide such information
  as may be required by the Electoral Commission from time to time ("the
  registration particulars"). The Electoral Commission, in its sole and
  absolute discretion and without stating reasons therefore, shall have the
  right to reject any application for online bidding.
  3.2 The supplier authorises the Electoral Commission to make such enquiries
  and conduct such reviews and interviews with supplier personnel, business
  partners, existing and previous clients of the supplier, sub-contractors,
  Government departments, Central Supplier Database, credit bureaus and any
  other person the Electoral Commission deems necessary to determine whether
  the supplier should be approved.
  3.3 Once approved, a supplier remains subject to the registration particulars
  until the supplier notifies the Electoral Commission of any changes thereto
  in the specified manner.
3.4 Any bids submitted on a bid shall be deemed to incorporate the
  registration particulars, as amended in terms of clause 3.3.
    4 Interpretation and
  Incorporation
  4.1 This Agreement governs the rights and obligations of the supplier, the
  guest and the Electoral Commission in respect of online bidding. The rights
  of a guest shall be limited to accessing and viewing such information
  provided on the website for which no access code is required.
  4.2 In this Agreement, all references to supplier shall include reference to
  a guest, provided that a guest shall under no circumstances obtain any of the
  rights granted to suppliers in this Agreement.
  4.3 These eProcurement terms are hereby deemed to be incorporated by
  reference into the standard Electoral Commission procurement terms,
  notwithstanding any "sole agreement" provisions of the standard Electoral
  Commission procurement terms.
  4.4 As far as any provisions of the standard Electoral Commission procurement
  terms require the Electoral Commission and/or supplier to agree to amendments
  to the standard Electoral Commission procurement terms either in writing and
  or through the application of signatures, the acceptance by the supplier of
  this Agreement shall be deemed to satisfy such requirements in all respects.
  4.5 Therefore, each bid remains subject to the relevant standard Electoral
  Commission procurement terms applicable to a bid and these eProcurement terms
  are merely aimed at facilitating the use of the website to submit bids and
  participate in auctions.
4.6 Whenever inconsistencies arise between the interpretation of the standard
  Electoral Commission procurement terms and the provisions of these
  eProcurement terms or requirements of form, the provisions of these
  eProcurement terms shall prevail.
    PART 2
                                        AUCTION RULES
    5
  Introduction
  5.1 Auctions are restricted to suppliers that have been approved by the Electoral
  Commission to access and use the online bid process.
5.2 The approval of a supplier is an integral part of the supplier's
  registration on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) and any changes,
  including non-compliant tax status, may impact on such approval and a
  supplier's ability to participate in any auction.
    5.3
  By participating in an auction and submitting bids, the supplier is not
  required to resubmit the registration particulars as this information is
  deemed to be incorporated into each bid.
    5.4 The bid, together with the registration particulars shall be deemed to
  constitute a bid made on each applicable bid requirement posted on the
  website.
    5.5 The Electoral Commission may cancel a bid at any time without stating
  reasons therefore.
   6 Bidding
  6.1 The supplier must update the information displayed on the eProcurement
  system before placing a bid by selecting the "refresh" function
  provided for on that site. Failure to do so could result in the supplier
  submitting a bid based on out-dated information.
  6.2 The supplier must complete and submit a bid only in the specified manner.
  6.3 The supplier may lower its bid price at any time prior to the closing
  date but may not increase its bid price once submitted.
  6.4 The supplier may not withdraw a bid once it has been submitted as a bid
  constitutes an irrevocable offer for the duration of the bid period. Bid prices shall 
  be valid for at least 180 days following the closure of an auction. 
  6.5 The award of the auction may be subjected to the negotiation of a market-related price with a bidder 
  in accordance with the provisions of the Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2022. 
  6.6 A bidder may not be awarded points for B-BBEE status level of contributor
  if the bidder indicates that the bidder intends subcontracting more than 25%
  of the value of the contract to any other person not qualifying for at least the points that the
  bidder qualifies for, unless the intended subcontractor is an EME that has the capability
  to execute the subcontract.  The bidder's responses to the conditions of the auction shall be binding as being true and correct.
  6.7 The Electoral Commission may, in its sole discretion, extend the closing
  date or time at any time without stating reasons therefore.
  6.8 A bid must be submitted exclusively via the auction site and any bids
  received otherwise than via the auction site shall be null and void.
  6.9 The Electoral Commission reserves the right to remove a bid from an
  auction should the Electoral Commission, in its sole and absolute discretion,
  deem such bid to be:
  6.9.1 in breach of any provision of this Agreement;
  6.9.2 not in compliance with the conditions of the auction;
  6.9.3 a bid that should not have been placed as part of a panel that was, for example, preselected through an alternative competitive bidding process for which the entity that placed the bid did not qualify to be appointed to such panel;
  6.9.4 not made bona fide; or
6.9.5 prejudicial to or not conforming to the aim and spirit of the online
  bidding facility.
   7 Proxy Bidding
  7.1 The auction site allows the supplier to specify the minimum bid price
  (the "minimum price offer") the supplier is willing to make on a
  bid.
  7.2 The proxy bid functionality (the "proxy bid") allows the eProcurement
  system to automatically and continuously lower a bid price to ensure that the
  supplier's bid points on a particular bid continue to exceed the bid points
  of a competitor with one bid point (the "automatic adjustment").
7.3 The automatic adjustment will continue until the minimum bid is reached
  after which time the automatic adjustment will cease and the supplier's
  lowest bid will remain as the supplier's final bid.
   8 Compare Bid
  8.1 The eProcurement system allows the supplier to compare the bid points of
  its proposed bid with that of the leading bid, prior to finally submitting
  the bid (the "compare bid function").
  8.2 The compare bid function allows the supplier to determine what bid price
  should be submitted and is therefore merely a value added function.
  8.3 The supplier acknowledges that the compare bid function does not
  constitute a bid as the supplier has to submit the bid by selecting the
  specified submit functionality. 
8.4 The compare bid function does not take proxy bidding into account.
   9 Notification of
  Leading Bid
  9.1 The Electoral Commission may, in its sole discretion and without
  incurring an obligation to do so or continue to do so, notify suppliers of a
  new leading bid.
  9.2 Such notification may be provided by such means as the Electoral
  Commission may determine from time to time, including email, phone, or short
  message system (SMS) messages.
9.3 Notwithstanding any provisions in this Agreement, it remains the sole
  responsibility of each supplier to monitor the auction site and determine the
  leading bid.
    10 The Winning Bid
  10.1 Only approved suppliers are eligible to be awarded a winning bid. 
  10.2 The leading bid will not necessarily constitute the winning bid and
  merely forms one of the criteria the Electoral Commission will take into account
  in awarding the bid.
  10.3 The Electoral Commission will determine the winning bid in accordance
  with the bid evaluation criteria and the provisions of the Preferential
  Procurement Regulations, 2022;
  10.4 The Electoral Commission shall not be compelled to award an auction to a
  perceived winning bid and the Electoral Commission shall be entitled to take
  such time as it deems fit after the closing date to determine the actual winning
  bid.
  10.5 The supplier who made the winning bid shall be notified of being awarded
  the bid by such means as the Electoral Commission may determine from time to
  time.
  10.6 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this agreement, a bid shall
  only be deemed to be awarded once the Electoral Commission has provided the
  supplier with a duly executed and signed purchase order for the required
  goods or services.
10.7 The procedures to be followed after the determination of the winning bid
  and the rights and obligations of the parties in respect of the goods or
  services are governed by the standard Electoral Commission procurement terms.
    11 Transparency
  11.1 A supplier's online bid shall be viewable to other participating
  suppliers in an auction.
11.2 The supplier acknowledges that by making this information available to
  other suppliers, the Electoral Commission shall not be held liable for any
  breach of confidence, confidentiality or secrecy.
    PART 3
                                        GENERAL PROVISIONS
    12 Access Code
  12.1 The supplier shall ensure that the access code (password) is neither
  easily accessible nor disclosed to anyone. Storing the access code on a
  computer or network will be regarded as prima facie negligent for purposes of
  evidence with regard to unauthorised transactions.
  12.2 The supplier shall be obliged to log-off from online bidding after participating
  in an auction. Failure to log-off could result in unauthorised transactions
  for which the Electoral Commission will not be held liable.
  12.3 The Electoral Commission may, in its sole discretion and for whatever reason,
  require a supplier to change its access code from time to time and the
  supplier undertakes to comply with such requirement unconditionally.
12.4 The supplier acknowledges that the access code may enable the supplier
  to access some or all online eProcurement services of the Electoral
  Commission and, accordingly, unauthorised use of the access code could expose
  a supplier to fraudulent transactions with the Electoral Commission.
    13 Deemed Originator
  13.1 The Electoral
  Commission shall be entitled to regard all bids purporting to originate from
  a supplier as validly and lawfully originating from or authorised by the
  supplier and to act on such bid. Under no circumstances shall the Electoral
  Commission be held liable for any actions taken on unauthorised bids.
13.2 Any electronic message purporting to originate from the Electoral
  Commission shall only be attributed to the Electoral Commission if such
  message was actually been sent by an authorised representative of the Electoral
  Commission.
    14 Deemed Receipt
  14.1 The Electoral
  Commission shall only be deemed to have received an electronic communication
  (including a bid) from the supplier once the electronic communication was
  opened by an authorised representative of the Electoral Commission or once
  the website displays the information transmitted, as the case may be.
  14.2 In the event of a dispute as to the time when an electronic message was
  received, the records of the Electoral Commission (including email end web
  server log records) shall constitute prima facie proof.
14.3 An electronic message sent by the Electoral Commission shall be deemed
  to have been sent at such time as the Electoral Commission records show the
  message to have entered an information system outside the control of the Electoral
  Commission.
    15 Electoral
  Commission Server Time
  The eProcurement
  site displays the time recorded ("server time") on the Electoral
  Commission's ICT server. Save for where a system malfunction can be proved,
  the server time constitutes conclusive proof as to the time of all actions
  performed and all information received to or transmitted from the eProcurement
  system.
    16 Sufficient
  Notification
  16.1 The supplier
  hereby grants the Electoral Commission authority to issue notifications
  required in terms of the Agreement, legislation or regulation, as the case
  may be, by posting such notification on the website or sending such
  notification by e-mail.
  16.2 Any notices so issued by the Electoral Commission, shall as far as they
  contain contractual terms pertaining to online bidding, also form part of the
  Agreement.
  16.3 A certificate signed by the administrator responsible for the
  maintenance of the information system (whose authority it shall not be
  necessary to prove) shall be prima facie proof of the first date of
  publication, withdrawal or contents of a notification.
    17 Amendments
  17.1 This
  Agreement may be amended by the Electoral Commission from time to time. The
  supplier acknowledges that by accessing the website from time to time, it
  shall become bound to the current version of the Agreement (the "current
  version") and, unless otherwise stated in the current version, all
  previous versions shall be superseded by the current version. Suppliers
  undertake to view the then current version each time use is made of online
  bidding.
  17.2 Without derogating from the a foregoing and without imposing any
  obligation on the Electoral Commission whatsoever, the Electoral Commission
  reserves the right to give suppliers notification of amendment of the
  Agreement either by electronic mail or by posting a notice on the website. On
  notification of the existence of the amended terms, suppliers are obliged to
  visit the website and view the then current version of the Agreement. Unless
  the supplier notifies the Electoral Commission otherwise, the amended
  Agreement will be deemed to have been perused and accepted by the supplier
  whenever the supplier makes use of online bidding.
  17.3 A certificate signed by the administrator responsible for the
  maintenance of the website shall be prima facieproof of the date of
  publication and content of the current version and all previous versions of
  the Agreement. The same provisions apply with regard to notices and
  disclaimers posted on the website.
    18 Unavailability of
  Online Bidding
  18.1 The Electoral
  Commission shall at all times and for whatever reason, have the sole and
  exclusive right to suspend or terminate online bidding without any prior
  notification or giving any reasons for such termination or suspension. 
  18.2 Suppliers acknowledge and accept that online bidding may become
  unavailable from time to time due to various circumstances, including:
  technical failure or problems with the Electoral Commission system; technical
  failure or problems with third party information technology systems;
  unavailability of telecommunication or electricity services; or other
  circumstances beyond the control of the Electoral Commission. 
18.3 Without derogating from the provisions of clause 26, suppliers undertake
  to limit their potential losses by utilising other means of communication and
  delivery of bids for the duration of the unavailability of online bids.
    19 Warranty
  The supplier warrants
  to the Electoral Commission that it: (a) has the requisite legal capacity to
  make use of online bidding; (b) has complied with all applicable statutory
  provisions; and (c) has read, understood and accepted the terms of this
  Agreement.
    20 No Offer
  Unless clearly
  otherwise stated, no material should be construed as an offer of whatever
  kind made by the Electoral Commission. All material on the website merely
  constitutes an invitation to do business with the Electoral Commission.
    21 Intellectual
  Property
  The logos and
  marks displayed on the website are registered and unregistered trademarks of
  the Electoral Commission and/or third parties. Nothing contained on the
  website should be construed as granting any licence or right to use any
  trademark without the written permission of the Electoral Commission and/or
  such third parties. Suppliers are hereby authorised to view, download one
  copy to a local hard drive or disk, print and make copies of such printouts,
  provided that:
  21.1 such material is used for purposes of using or considering using online
  bidding and no other commercial purposes;
21.2 any reproduction of the Electoral Commission proprietary material from
  the website or portion thereof must include this notice in its entirety.
    22 Use of Browser and
  Software
  22.1 Suppliers
  are required to use and maintain only hardware and software of sufficient
  quality and performance capability and to use only the specified makes and
  versions of internet browser software. Failure to use a specified browser may
  result in a higher security risk and/or cause some or all of the
  functionality of the website not to operate properly or at all and the Electoral
  Commission shall not be held liable in this regard.
  22.2 Software, if any, made available for download on or via the website is
  governed by licence conditions establishing a legal relationship with the
  licensor. Suppliers indemnify the Electoral Commission against any breach of
  such licence conditions. 
  22.3 The Electoral Commission gives no warranty and makes no representation,
  whether express or implied, as to the quality or fitness for purpose or use
  of such software. 
22.4 No warranty, whether express or implied is given that any files,
  downloads or applications available via the website are free of viruses, or
  any other data or code which has the ability to corrupt or affect the
  operation of suppliers' systems.
    23 Transmission of
  Information
  Information
  transmitted via the internet, including email, is susceptible to unlawful
  access or monitoring. suppliers shall bear all risk of transmitting such
  information in this manner and under no circumstances will the Electoral
  Commission be liable for any loss, harm or damage suffered by them as a
  result thereof. The Electoral Commission reserves the right to request
  independent verification of any information transmitted via the website or
  email.
    24 Information Feeds
  The Electoral
  Commission may use the services of certain third parties to provide
  information on the website from time to time. The Electoral Commission has no
  control over this information and makes no representations or warrantees of
  any nature as to the accuracy, appropriateness or correctness of such
  information. Suppliers agree that such information is provided "as
  is" and the Electoral Commission shall not be directly or indirectly
  liable for any damages that may arise from the supplier's reliance on such
  information.
   25 Hyperlinks; Deep
  linking; Crawlers and Metatags
  25.1 External
  hyperlinks may be provided for convenience. These web pages are beyond the
  control of the Electoral Commission and no representation or endorsement is
  made as to their content.
  25.2 No person shall be entitled to link a website or any web pages to any
  web pages of the website without the prior written consent of the Electoral Commission.
  25.3 No person shall be entitled to send search-software (crawlers) to
  retrieve information from the website for reproduction or processing, in any
  manner or form, without the prior written consent of the Electoral Commission.
25.4 No person shall be entitled to use the Electoral Commission's name or
  that of any of its proprietary products or services for purposes of
  metatagging without the prior written consent of the Electoral Commission.
   26
  DISCLAIMER & LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
  26.1 THE WEBSITE
  AND ePROCUREMENT SYSTEM ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE ELECTORAL
  COMMISSION MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH
  REGARD THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING:-
  26.1.1 THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE OR ONLINE
  BIDDING WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR WILL MEET ANY PARTICULAR CRITERIA OF ACCURACY,
  COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION, PERFORMANCE OR QUALITY. 
26.1.2 THE ePROCUREMENT SYSTEM IS INTEGRATED WITH THE NATIONAL TREASURY
  CENTRAL SUPPLIER DATABASE (CSD) AT TIMED 24HOUR INTERVALS.  THE SUPPLIER
  REGISTRATION INFORMATION DISPLAYED AT ANY POINT IN TIME SHALL CORRESPOND WITH
  THE DATA ON THE CSD AS IT WAS AT THE LAST TIMED EVENT.  ANY EXPECTED UPDATES
  WILL ONLY BE DISPLAYED FOLLOWING THE NEXT TIMED EVENT.
    26.1.3
  THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
  INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS
  FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPATIBILITY, SECURITY AND
  ACCURACY.
    26.2 NEITHER THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION, ITS SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, CONSULTANTS
  OR EMPLOYEES WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RELATING TO THE USE OF
  THE WEBSITE, ONLINE BIDDING OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN, INCLUDING,
  WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL
  OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING OUT OF CONTRACT, STATUTE, DELICT OR
  OTHERWISE. WITHOUT DEROGATING FROM THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE
  ELECTORAL COMMISSION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:
    26.2.1 ANY INTERRUPTION, MALFUNCTION, DOWNTIME OR OTHER FAILURE OF THE
  WEBSITE OR ONLINE BIDDING, THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION SYSTEM, DATABASES OR ANY
  COMPONENT PART THEREOF FOR WHATEVER REASON;
    26.2.2 ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE WITH REGARD TO SUPPLIER DATA OR OTHER DATA DIRECTLY
  OR INDIRECTLY CAUSED BY MALFUNCTION OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION SYSTEM, POWER
  FAILURES, UNLAWFUL ACCESS TO OR THEFT OF DATA, COMPUTER VIRUSES; PROGRAMMING
  DEFECTS OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION;
    26.2.3 ANY INTERRUPTION, MALFUNCTION, DOWNTIME OR OTHER FAILURE OF GOODS OR
  SERVICES PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE PUBLIC
  SWITCHED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS (CURRENTLY TELKOM), INTERNET
  SERVICE PROVIDERS, ELECTRICITY SUPPLIERS (CURRENTLY ESKOM), LOCAL AUTHORITIES
  AND CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES;
    26.2.4 AN EVENT OF VIS MAJOR OR ANY OTHER EVENT OVER WHICH THE
  ELECTORAL COMMISSION HAS NO DIRECT CONTROL.
   27 Technology
  Neutrality
  The Electoral Commission makes online bidding available to suppliers subject
  to the principle of technology neutrality, which principle suppliers hereby
  accept. The principle of technology neutrality means that:
  27.1 Online bidding is subject to the same business fundamentals and
  principles governing the Electoral Commission's standard evaluation
  procedures of bids.
  27.2 Online bidding is subject to the same processing turn-around times and
  performance criteria as applied by the Electoral Commission in evaluating
  bids received through other mediums of communication and delivery.
  27.3 Any requirements of form shall include electronic or online forms
  thereof.
  27.4 Documents or displays viewed or printed by suppliers via an information
  system shall prima facie be deemed to be "true copies" of the
  original. 
  27.5 The supplier hereby designates the access code as the supplier's
  signature for purposes of all subsequent actions performed or bids made
  during an auction.
  27.6 In as far as a signature is required for each bid in terms of the
  Agreement or applicable legislation, the supplier hereby designates each
  submission of a bid as its written signature. 
27.7 Whenever required in the Agreement or applicable legislation, the
  submission of the access code, together with the submission of a bid shall,
  collectively, constitute and have the same effect as a written, signed
  authority.
    
        28 POPIA Consent
    
    Consent to Process Information According to the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) - POPIA:
    28.1 In registering on and participating in auctions facilitated through the Electoral Commission’s eProcurement system a supplier/bidder gives consent and accepts that the information they provide will be used for purposes of evaluation and adjudication of bids. This includes use of the data provided by a bidder to perform due diligence checks involving the collection of personal data from third parties (e.g. clients of the bidder(s), SARS, CIPS) to validate claims and to gather important information for the purpose of evaluation and adjudication of this bid. This may include the collection of publicly available data.
    28.2 In using the eProcurement system and participating in bids the supplier/bidder gives consent and accepts that the Electoral Commission may use personal data to investigate potential risk such as fronting, criminal conduct, unethical conduct for the protection of its rights and for the purpose of evaluation and adjudication of this bid. The Electoral Commission may also share personal data with relevant authorities for investigation of criminal conduct and for other lawful purpose.
    28.3 The supplier/bidder accepts that the Electoral Commission may share their personal data with third parties to support its internal and external audit processes
    28.4 The supplier/bidder acknowledges that a bidder’s personal data will be kept confidential and will be used for the purpose intended for a bid and will not be shared with third parties for unrelated or unlawful purposes. In addition, the information will be handled in line with record retention guidelines and be disposed of when the timelines in the guidelines have been reached. Any request for deletion of personal information will be acceded to in line with legislative requirements. Should such deletion impact on the evaluation, adjudication, awarding and contract phases a bidder will be informed and such impact effected