ActionSA is seeking tighter regulation of electoral opinion polling in SA.
The party says existing legislation is insufficient to curb manipulated polling data, which can become a tool for misinformation, manipulation and electoral interference.
In an explanatory memorandum to a private members’ bill gazetted on Friday, ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni said the move was designed to govern the conduct, publication and dissemination of political opinion polling during or before election periods in line with international best practice.
The Electoral Act of 1998 bans publication of exit polls on election day, but it “does not apply to the broader and more influential category of pre-election political opinion polling,” Ngobeni noted.
The proposed new legislation, which amends both the Electoral Commission Act and the Electoral Act, would give the Electoral Commission (IEC) new powers to oversee and sanction polling firms.
“Currently, the only explicit statutory provision is section 109 of the Electoral Act, which prohibits the publishing of exit poll results during the prescribed voting hours on election day,” Ngobeni said.
“This narrow restriction does not apply to the broader and more influential category of pre-election political opinion polling. SA lacks any specific legal provisions governing the conduct, publication and dissemination of political opinion polling during or before election periods.”
ActionSA’s push follows its 2024 complaint to the press ombud after a poll was circulated in March that anonymously distributed data to Rapport, City Press and News24 without identifying the commissioning party or the organisation that conducted it. The ombud ruled that Rapport, the original publisher, violated section 1.2 of the Press Code and ordered corrections by all the publications involved.
In the 2024 national elections, ActionSA obtained about 1.2% of the national vote and won six seats in the National Assembly.
The proposed draft bill by Ngobeni seeks to:
- Create a new polling ombud within the Electoral Commission to oversee how political and exit polls are conducted and published.
- Give the polling ombud powers to register polling companies, enforce compliance, issue fines and ensure transparency in all polling activities.
- Require polling companies to register and disclose key information such as who commissioned the poll and how it was conducted and set clear time limits on when polls can be published.
- Ban the publication of any political opinion polls in the seven days before an election.
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