Arrests already made as fake election results spread, government warns

Government says people have already been arrested for spreading misinformation and disinformation about the 2026 Local Government Elections, and it wants South Africans and political parties to stop circulating unverified results.

Speaking to SAnews at the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Friday, Government Deputy Spokesperson William Baloyi said the circulation of unverified results and unauthorised photographs of marked ballot papers undermines the integrity of the electoral process. He said the IEC remained the only legitimate authority mandated to announce election results, and urged the public to let the results-capturing and verification processes run their course.

“We want to appeal that misinformation and disinformation are criminal acts,” Baloyi said. “The South African Police Service has already indicated the number of people who have been arrested for misinformation and disinformation.”

He gave the taking and sharing of photographs of oneself with a marked ballot paper as an example of conduct that contravenes electoral rules, and raised concern about people circulating speculative election results before the IEC announces them, warning this can mislead the public.

“The IEC is the legitimate structure that can pronounce all the results, and we want people to respect that,” he said.

Baloyi called on political parties and independent candidates to use the appropriate IEC mechanisms to raise complaints or objections, rather than issuing statements that might create unnecessary tension. He urged all stakeholders to respect the outcome once results are finalised, saying these should be accepted as a reflection of the will of voters.

He commended South Africans, particularly young people, for taking part, describing the turnout as an important milestone in the country’s democratic development. The IEC will provide the official voter turnout figures. Baloyi welcomed reports of increased youth participation and said more young people must be encouraged to take part in democratic processes.

He highlighted the importance of local government elections, noting that municipalities are the sphere of government closest to communities and directly responsible for services that affect people’s daily lives. He also commended the security services and other stakeholders for their role in ensuring the elections were generally incident-free, despite isolated challenges.

Baloyi said voting is only one part of the democratic process, and that citizens should keep holding elected representatives accountable by attending public meetings and following up on service delivery commitments.

“South Africa has once again demonstrated that it was a living democracy,” he said.

This report is drawn from SAnews (South African Government News Agency), the government’s own news service, at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/government-reiterates-warning-against-election-misinformation. The agency’s account is a summary of Baloyi’s remarks rather than a full transcript, and the number of arrests referred to was not given in it.