34 misinformation complaints as candidates, supporters face arrest: IEC - TimesLIVE

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has warned political parties and their supporters against spreading unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, saying misleading social media posts are threatening the integrity of the local government elections.

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission’s information integrity hub had identified increasing attempts to undermine confidence in the electoral process, particularly through social media platforms.

Speaking during an IEC media briefing, Mamabolo said unsubstantiated election fraud pronouncements by some political parties have led to supporters posting videos of presiding officers and staff transferring special vote ballots after home visits and carrying boxes and bags into the main ballot box at the voting station.

Mamabolo said videos were shared without context alongside claims that something untoward was under way.

“The commission appeals to political parties to avoid making inflammatory remarks [about] the standard operating procedures regarding the voting process and the handling of election materials,” he said.

Mamabolo urged political parties and candidates to comply with the electoral code of conduct and refrain from prohibited conduct as prescribed in the Municipal Electoral Act.

We urge citizens not to take any such social posts at face value, but rather to check the context and the veracity before sharing. If you come across content that looks false or misleading, including AI-generated material, please report it to real411.org.za

He said parties that identify irregularities involving election officials should use the established reporting channels instead of making allegations on social media.

“The commission has already swiftly acted on officials who fell short of carrying out their duties as required,” he said.

The IEC also raised concerns about complaints received through the Real411 platform, which monitors misinformation and disinformation during elections.

“The Real 411 platform has registered 34 complaints comprising misinformation and disinformation, incitement to violence, hate speech and harassment. The most dominant platforms used are X at 58.8%, followed by TikTok at 23.5%, with Facebook and WhatsApp accounting for 8.8% of the complaints received,” Mamabolo said.

He said the commission had been alerting citizens to social media posts containing false information and publishing factual information on its own platforms.

Some misleading posts had been escalated to social media companies for possible remedial action.

“We urge citizens not to take any such social posts at face value, but rather to check the context and the veracity before sharing. If you come across content that looks false or misleading, including AI-generated material, please report it to real411.org.za,” he said.

Beyond misinformation, Mamabolo said the commission had noted a sharp increase in incidents of prohibited conduct and criminal behaviour involving some political party supporters. These include:

In Mpumalanga, a candidate contesting ward 30 in the Phake Rankahile voting district allegedly stormed a voting station and damaged electoral materials. Police have since arrested the candidate.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Mamabolo said MK Party supporters had allegedly stormed the IEC’s Dassenhoek Library satellite warehouse, where election materials were being stored and held election officials hostage.

Public order police were called in to disperse the group and secure both the officials and election materials.

“Fortunately the group left peacefully after engagement with the South African Police Service,” he said.

He said there had been similar attempts by MK Party supporters to unlawfully enter IEC election material storage facilities in Richmond, uMkhambathini, Pietermaritzburg and eThekwini.

In the Eastern Cape, two people allegedly attempted to gain access to election materials by pretending to be IEC officials collecting supplies for voting stations. Mamabolo said the pair failed to gain access and were potentially identified as members of the Incoboyethu Civic Organisation.

One of the alleged impersonators, who is a proportional representation councillor candidate for the same organisation, has since been arrested.

“The conduct cannot be justified nor allowed to impair the country’s electoral process. Therefore the commission is taking the necessary legal steps to bring the identified individuals and political parties to account,” Mamabolo said.

Meanwhile, the IEC said special voting operations, including home visits and voting at designated stations, would continue until November 5.

Mamabolo said the commission had recorded approximately 970,000 station-based special votes and 421,000 home visits.