POLL | Are you concerned the May elections might not be free and fair after the leaking of candidate lists?

13 March 2024 - 12:35
By Rethabile Radebe
CEO Sy Mamabolo, right, has said any behaviour that seeks to violate or undermine the IEC will not be tolerated. File photo.
Image: Freddy Mavunda CEO Sy Mamabolo, right, has said any behaviour that seeks to violate or undermine the IEC will not be tolerated. File photo.

The leaking of confidential electoral information may lead many to question whether South Africa's elections will be free and fair. 

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) put the country in its confidence after the leaking of the ANC and MK Party candidates lists.

This has cast doubt among some voters, who are concerned whether the IEC will be able to oversee clean and incident-free elections.

The commission announced on Tuesday its preliminary investigations into the unauthorised release of the candidates lists revealed the documents were leaked by an IEC employee who has since been dismissed.

It was not immediately clear if the employee was a senior member of the organisation and what their role was.

South Africans will go to the polls on May 29 and the IEC has said it is on track with its preparations.

The DA wrote to US secretary of state Antony Blinken and 13 other foreign ministers about a week ago requesting foreign governments to deploy election observers to South Africa to ensure the May polls are conducted fairly.

President Cyril Ramaphosa lambasted the DA, saying what the party did amounted to “mortgaging the country”.

TimesLIVE