The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has pledged transparency in the counting and verification of election results, assuring the public that votes will be captured in the presence of political party agents, observers and the media.
The commission made the announcement during the launch of the National Results Operations Centre, where IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya outlined the measures in place to safeguard the integrity of the results process.
Moepya said ballot papers would be counted at each voting station immediately after voting closes, with the counting and determination of results conducted in the presence of party agents, observers and the media, unless the law provides otherwise in specific circumstances.
Party agents and observers will also be allowed to photograph completed results slips at voting stations.
The commission has cautioned political parties and members of the public against making unfounded claims or misrepresenting election results. Moepya urged those taking photographs of results slips to preserve their authenticity.
“We have only one request to make. Don’t Photoshop them. Keep them original. It’ll help the nation. Use them to good effect. That’s what they’re meant for,” Moepya said.
He also confirmed that the IEC would continue using a double-blind results-capturing process to minimise typographical and human errors.
Under this procedure, each result is captured through a system of independent entries to help identify discrepancies. The commission will also scan and publish every results slip on its website and results system.
This will allow members of the public, both in South Africa and abroad, to compare the original results slips with the figures recorded on the system.
Moepya said these measures were intended to strengthen transparency and enable the public to verify that the results published by the commission accurately reflect those recorded at voting stations.