IEC assures political parties that results system is reliable

The Electoral Commission (IEC) has sought to assure political parties contesting the upcoming elections that its results system is reliable and secure.

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo briefed the media on processes towards the November 4th Local Government Elections (LGE), including the just-completed special voting application process and logistical and personnel preparations.

The IEC’s Results System came under fire after it suffered a technical glitch in the 2024 National and Provincial elections.

This saw the Commission hauled before the Electoral Court by the MK Party which alleged that when the leaderboard at the National Results Operations Centre went blank for two hours on 31 May 2024, votes were manipulated.

The claim was subsequently dismissed by the Electoral Court last month.

Mamabolo says that five parties, the ANC, DA, EFF, ACDP and Freedom Front Plus accepted its invitation to independently audit the system between the 5th and 12th of October.

“Parties were given an opportunity to audit the system and ensure that its functionality and security resilience is established. So, we really want to thank the five parties who took advantage of that opportunity now having done so it can’t be that after the election you raise concerns about the reliability of the system when in fact you were given an opportunity pre-elections to find your peace with the functional modalities and the security resilience of the system.”

Video: IEC media briefing on special vote applications – 14 October 2026