Poder Ciudadano

Description

Poder Ciudadano is the Argentine chapter of Transparency International. It is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Its website is organized around several areas of work: general information about the organization, news, a library of publications, anticorruption assistance, and open data. The library includes research reports the organization produces on transparency and public integrity issues in Argentina.

One example, dated April 2015, examines the implementation of the Boleta Única Electrónica, an electronic single ballot voting system, in the city of Buenos Aires during that year. The report finds weaknesses in the public tendering process and in the transparency of the contracting procedure. It raises concerns about limited citizen oversight, unclear public information, and the role of the private company awarded the contract.

The report documents inconsistencies between the terms of the tender specifications and how the system was actually implemented. It notes that civil society participation in the process was marginal, and it questions the technical criteria used to select the system. It also points to insufficient evaluation of the system’s impact, concluding that the rollout suffered from both regulatory and operational failures.

Poder Ciudadano produces this kind of research as part of its broader anticorruption assistance and open data work in Argentina.