MEDIA STATEMENT

The Electoral Commission complies with Information Regulator enforcement notice

The Electoral Commission confirms that it has complied with the enforcement notice

issued by the Information Regulator in relation to an incident of unauthorised release

of personal information of candidates. This incident occurred ahead of the general

elections in 2024.

In March 2024, the Commission had an incident in which candidate lists for the ANC

and uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) Party were released in an unauthorised manner. At the

time, the Commission swiftly investigated the incident and confirmed that it was not a

data breach but rather that an official shared the information of candidates in an

unauthorised manner. The Commission further stated that the official had access to

certain reports of the Candidate Nomination System (CNS) but was not authorized to

distribute or circulate the information.

Following the event, the Commission took the appropriate actions to notify the affected

parties. The matter was also reported to the relevant law enforcement authorities for

investigation. Additionally, the Commission voluntarily reported the matter to the

Information Regulator over and above terminating the employment contract of that

affected official.

In September 2024, the Information Regulator issued an enforcement notice to the

Commission. In line with this enforcement notice the Commission has updated its

policy on data management and placed the required notification notice of the incident

on its website. Therefore, the Commission has fully complied with the terms of the

enforcement notice of the Information Regulator.

The subsequent compliance notice and concomitant fine appear to relate to the late

submission of the confirmation of compliance. The Commission will continue to

engage the Information Regulator on this matter as it assesses the avenues available

to it for processing the matter further.

The actions of the Commission on this matter illustrates its transparency and

willingness to participate in safeguarding data privacy. The Commission re-assures

the public that it holds private information of voters and candidates in a secure

environment underpinned by appropriate policies, and it continually reviews its

business processes and technology to fortify data security.

ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Ensuring free and fair elections

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