The consortium members must be politically independent, but can board members of the consortium members be affiliated with a political party?
As described in section 5.2.5 of the Terms of Reference, the presence of board members with a political affiliation or the reception of funds from government sources may not automatically lead to the organisation being deemed to lack the necessary independence. But such factors should be clearly disclosed in the bid, along with a description of how independence will be maintained. Failure to disclose any personal ties that could be deemed to inhibit the independence of the bidder, may lead to the bid being rejected without further assessment of compliance with this criterium.