Cape Town — The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) confirmed an investigation is underway to determine the candidate lists leaks for the African National Congress (ANC) and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
Each party was required to submit their electoral candidate lists to the IEC by 5pm on Friday 8 March, The lists include personal information of the party’s national and provincial candidates, which started making rounds on social media after it was leaked. The IEC said internal process are underway to determine the source of the leak, The Citizen said.
“The commission has become aware of lists of candidates related to two political parties, the ANC and MK Party that have been circulated or disclosed in a manner not authorised.”
📌[Media Statement]
Update on the nomination of candidates for NPE 2024. pic.twitter.com/nYCYN76aWy
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) March 9, 2024
“Indications are that the data emanated from internal system generated reports within the commission. To this end, the commission has directed an enquiry to establish the circumstances and identity of the source of the unauthorised disclosure. The disclosed documents also contain personal information of data subjects, the commission has reported the incident to the Information Regulator in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act,” the IEC said.
The African National Congress (ANC) has called for an investigation into the “unauthorised release” of its candidate lists for the upcoming elections, EWN reported.
The ANC said the leaking of this confidential document is concerning, as it not only breaches the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, but also poses a reputational risk for the IEC. The IEC said these lists were open for inspection on 26 and 27 March.
The ANC said this gives opposition parties an unfair advantage, as they will have two weeks to inspect and prepare objections against the candidates nominated by the party.
Following the leak of the ANC’s national Candidate list yesterday, the Independent Electoral Commission said it has instituted measures to deal with the matter. Prof. Zwelinzima Ndevu says this brings the credibility of the IEC into disrepute.
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— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 10, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
