The members of parliament of SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance of the Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency submitted today, Tuesday, April 30, a request for the convening of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency, based on article 43A of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, in order to summon the competent Minister of the Interior, Niki Kerameos, in a hearing, in relation to the case of the leakage of personal data of foreign voters and in relation to the measures that the Ministry of the Interior must take to ensure the integrity of the June 9 European elections.

SYRIZA’s request in detail:

“Athens, April 30, 2024

TO

Mr. President of the Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency

Notification to Mr. President of the Parliament

SUBJECT: “REQUEST FOR CONVENING OF THE COMMITTEE BASED ON ARTICLE 43A OF THE REGULATION OF THE PARLIAMENT ON THE CASE OF THE LEAK OF CITIZENS’ PERSONAL DATA, OF THE BREAKING IN OF THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE DIRECTOR OF ELECTING MINISTERS AND TO ENSURE PEACE OF THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS”

Dear Mr. President,

With this letter, we invite you to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the Committee based on article 43A of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, in order to invite the competent Minister of the Interior to a hearing in relation to the case of the leakage of personal data of foreign voters and in relation to the measures to be taken by the Ministry of the Interior to ensure the integrity of the June 9 European elections.

Because the Commission’s competence according to article 43A of the Civil Code includes “… the research and evaluation of every element useful for the study and elaboration of proposals, which contribute to the transparency of politics and in general the public life of the country and the monitoring of their implementation”.

Because in this case, the leak of personal data of voters abroad, which came to light a month ago, has created reasonable concerns about the security of citizens’ personal data held at the Ministry of the Interior,

Since the above concern is further exacerbated by the burglary of the office of the Director of the Elections Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Friday, April 26,

Because, as a result of the above-mentioned leak of personal data, civil lawsuits have already been brought against the Greek State for the award of compensation, while the investigation of the case is pending before the Courts and with regard to any criminal aspect thereof,

Because, despite the repeated relevant requests on behalf of the Official Opposition, including the filing of Current Questions, Ms. Minister of the Interior has not provided answers and the necessary assurances regarding:

A) What was the exact point in time of the leak of voters’ personal data,

B) If the Data Protection Officer (DPO) has informed the Data Protection Authority accordingly, within 72 hours as provided,

C) Why was the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of the Interior chosen to conduct the investigation, instead of the procedure prescribed by the Civil Service Code, that is, the Sworn Administrative Examination,

D) Whether or not the “Internal Control Unit” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose powers are determined by Law 4795/2021 and specifically articles 10, 13 and 14, is controlled for the leakage of personal data, if, in this regard, it should has pointed out any gaps in the system in a timely manner, in the Annual Opinion Report, if it has amended the Annual Work Program in a timely manner, with the aim of protecting the personal data of the voters, if the Minister of the Interior has received the relevant Report of the head of the MEE, and, in a negative case, given that failure to file the Report would constitute a violation of the law, because he did not request it,

E) If the relevant Departments of the Ministry have received the deliverables of the contract:

“Direct contract for the provision of software development services for the implementation of postal voting and support for the electoral process”, by the contractor Company, as provided until February 9, including, but not limited to, the “Postal Voting Application Subsystem” and,

F} What extraordinary measures have been taken by the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to protect and secure the personal data of citizens and to prevent their illegal management, in order to ensure the reliability of the postal voting system and in general the electoral process of the European elections ,

We request such as:

A) The Conclusion of the Internal Audit Unit shall be forwarded to the Committee,

the Annual Opinion Report and the Annual Work Planning of the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

B) Call before the Commission the competent Minister of the Interior Ms. Niki Kerameos, in order to provide explanations and inform the Hellenic Parliament on the above, for the purpose of evaluating and processing proposals that contribute to the transparency of the country’s politics and public life in general, due to the competence of the Commission.

The members – MPs of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance of the Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency Tzakris Theodora, Polakis Pavlos, Christidou Ralia”