The Electoral Commission of South Africa has gazetted a binding code requiring political parties and candidates to retract and correct false or misleading campaign information within 36 hours of becoming aware of it. The Electoral Code of Conduct Countering Disinformation in Local Government Elections was published in the Government Gazette on Friday, 4 September 2026, according to the gazette document and reporting by BusinessDay and IOL.
The code, promulgated under section 88(a) of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000, covers all election-related communications both online and offline, including paid advertising and unpaid content. Parties and candidates are held responsible for communications issued directly or through agents acting on their instructions, with their authority, or for reward.
The gazetted code states that every political party and candidate commits to “refrain from conducting any disinformation campaign and from producing, disseminating, sponsoring or encouraging the dissemination of any disinformation or other false or misleading information knowing it to be false or without believing it on reasonable grounds to be true.” The document also prohibits the use of falsified or fabricated data, deceptive AI-generated audio, images or video, fake accounts or automatic bots, and unfounded accusations or cyber-bullying.
Inside Politics, reporting on the gazetted code, noted that parties must take corrective steps “as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than 36 hours of becoming aware” to publicly retract and correct disinformation disseminated by them, for them or on their behalf. The same 36-hour window applies to reporting suspected online disinformation, according to IOL.
The gazette document further states that every party and candidate undertakes not to use, or to encourage or sponsor the use of, any technology or tools that “give rise to or amplify the spread of disinformation or intended to manipulate political discourse or the electorate.” BusinessDay reported that the code is binding from the date of publication until the election results are declared, though this detail was not corroborated by a second source among the available reporting.
South Africa’s local government elections are expected later this year, with IOL reporting a provisional date of 4 November, though this date could not be independently verified by a second source. The introduction of the code reflects a broader global trend of electoral bodies grappling with the impact of social media, micro-targeting, and generative artificial intelligence on democratic processes, as seen in recent elections in the United States, India, and the European Union.
BusinessDay reported that the IEC has designated Real411 as the official online portal for reporting disinformation complaints, though this was not confirmed by a second source in the provided results. The code formalises standards first articulated in the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000 and the Electoral Commission Act 51 of 1996, placing legal accountability squarely on parties and candidates for the accuracy of their campaign messaging.
What remains unconfirmed is the exact election date, the role of Real411, and the binding period of the code. Cape Flats News will check for an official IEC statement confirming these details on Monday, 8 September 2026.