ECOWAS Tenders Code Alternatively the selection may be made on the basis of the quality of the technical proposal submitted within a predetermined fixed budget or on the basis of the best financial proposal submitted by the candidates having obtained an acceptable technical score pre-disclosed in the request for proposals. 2. Technical proposal opening shall take place immediately after the deadline for proposals submission. The opening of the financial proposals is a public opening and qualified consultants, the proposals of whom passed the technical evaluation, are invited to be present if they chose to do so. 3. Contracts are awarded to the best evaluated proposal on the basis of a combination of the technical and financial criteria as determined in request for proposal. 4. The contract shall be negotiated with the selected candidate. Negotiations shall not be simultaneously done with several candidates. Negotiations shall include discussions of the organization and timing of intervention of the consultant, procuring entity’s inputs, but shall not alter the original terms of reference or the terms of the contract, nor the unit price proposed by the consultant. 5. When negotiations are concluded, the other qualified consultants are informed of the rejection of their proposal within three (3) working days. 6. When the services are of an exceptionally complex nature or of a considerable impact on future projects or when they may lead to the submission of proposals which are difficult to compare, the consultant may be selected exclusively on the basis of the technical quality of his proposal. 7. Contracts referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article may only be awarded to candidates who accept to be subjected to price verification during the performance of the services, in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of this Code. Section VIII: Electronic Procurement Article 49 Electronic Procurement Communications, which are required by this Code, may be conducted by electronic means according to the conditions set forth below: a) The bidding documents or request for proposals may be communicated to bidders by electronic means. b) Unless it is otherwise provided for in the notice of invitation, bids, proposals or quotations may be submitted by electronic means according to conditions specified in the Procurement Manual. c) The provisions of this Code referring to methods of written communication do not preclude the use of electronic communication to the extent that the procuring entity is authorised to use electronic means. Final Page 23