South Africa: False - South Africa's Electoral Commission Debunks Claims Around 'Changing' Vote Numbers On Results Dashboard

20 June 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Taryn Khourie

FALSE: South Africa's electoral commission debunks claims around 'changing' vote numbers on results dashboard

IN SHORT: Since South Africans went to the polls in May, there have been claims that the country's electoral commission changed the number of votes each party received after the votes had been counted. However, the IEC has denied this and clarified the update to the results dashboard.

South Africa's general elections took place on 29 May 2024. The results showed that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) failed to secure a majority for the first time since 1994.

After the results were announced, ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa invited other parties to form a government of national unity (GNU). This includes a larger group of parties rather than just one or two major parties in a coalition.

The GNU brings together the ANC, the main opposition the Democratic Alliance and smaller parties. On 14 June 2024, members of parliament reelected Ramaphosa as president of South Africa.

Since the election results, Africa Check has seen many election-related claims of destroyed ballot boxes, bribery and vote rigging.

But posts circulating on social media since June 2024 claim that the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has changed the number of votes each party received after the votes were counted.

"Breaking News : IEC just moved the ANC numbers from 6 Million to 12 Million. This is after MK stated that there are 9 Million Votes that are unaccounted for," reads one of the posts.

Another says: "BREAKING | It appears that the IEC system has been hacked, and the votes for all parties have been changed."

The same claim has also been posted on Facebook groups with thousands of members. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

The posts include two screenshots of the IEC results dashboard as proof that the number of votes for each party has changed.

The left screenshot shows the total number of votes for each party at the end of the counting period. The right screenshot shows different numbers for each party, compared to the left.

So what's going on here? We checked.

Votes (N + R) explained

Our first clue that something was wrong with the claim was that the headings for "votes" were different in each screenshot. The left screenshot says "votes", while the right screenshot says "votes (N + R)".

A Google search of the claim brought us to a post on X, where the IEC clarified the matter.

[MEDIA STATEMENT]Electoral Commission clarifies Elections Results Dashboard update following seat allocation pic.twitter.com/Xu9AV68lIx-- IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) June 17, 2024

"Electoral Commission clarifies Elections Results Dashboard update following seat allocation," the post reads. Attached to the post is a media statement, which explains the change in vote numbers:

The Electoral Commission notes the conversation and some confusion with the update of the Elections Results Dashboard last week to reflect the total number of votes from the 2 National Assembly ballots and final seat allocation (out of 400 seats) for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.In the 2024 elections registered voters received 2 ballots for the National Assembly elections: 1 National ballot and 1 Regional ballot, (the 3rd election ballot was for the provincial elections). Just over 16 million registered voters voted, casting some 31.92 million ballots across the 9 regional and 1 national ballot.

The IEC also says that the calculation of seats takes into account the national (N) and the regional (R) ballots. This is why the numbers under the heading "Votes (N + R)" in the screenshot on the right have changed.

"This is done to ensure that the allocation of compensatory seats take into account the regional strength of all political parties," the statement adds.

"Thus, meeting the proportional representation in general demanded by the constitution."

The same explanation can be found on the South African government website. The claim is false - the IEC did not "change" the number of votes each party received when it was "hacked" or in an attempt to "rig the vote". The "votes (N + R)" results reflect the total number of votes from the national and regional ballots.

Similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Want to keep ahead of election-related misinformation? Head to our South Africa Election Information Hub or visit sources such as the IEC for updates.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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