ELECTION season sees an influx in misinformation being spread among community groups which can ultimately affect the decisions made by voters at the poll. 

Also read: What does your ballot paper mean?

Disinformation code

The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) are working hard to combat fake news and false narratives with the implementation of the Disinformation Code. The code holds parties and candidates accountable by ensuring factual accuracy and are required to retract false information within 24 hours.

Common myths

Some of the most common myths are:

Myth: If you are registered to vote and do not vote, your vote automatically goes to the governing party.
Fact: The IEC has confirmed this to be false, only valid votes cast in an election are counted.

Myth: The IEC shares voters’ personal contact information with political candidates.
Fact: The IEC is required by law to publish the voters’ roll with the registered voters names, which is available to parties and candidates, however contact details are not included.

Myth: Citizens should be concerned about vote-rigging and fraud. 
Fact: Every election season sees concerns about vote rigging, election fraud or dumped ballot boxes. The IEC has rejected these claims and said that the voting and counting process at each station is done in the presence of observers and party agents.

Fair elections

The IEC said they are committed to ensuring a complete and fair election.

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