Political parties in South Africa have just been given a stern warning. Leave the media alone. Stop the online trolling of journalists. The message came from the Electoral Commission, and it landed just weeks before the November 4 municipal elections, at a time when campaigning in the Western Cape is really starting to heat up.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) brought parties together in Bellville this week for a signing session. Every party contesting the local government elections in the province put their name to the Commission’s updated code of conduct. And this year, there’s something new in it. Parties are now expected to actually call out disinformation when they see it, not just avoid spreading it themselves.
Why The IEC Is Speaking Out Now
Janet Love, the IEC’s Vice Chairperson, didn’t mince her words when she addressed the room. A free press, she said, is simply part of how elections work in a democracy. Parties don’t have to love the coverage they get. They’re allowed to think a story is unfair or badly framed. But that frustration never gives anyone the right to intimidate the person who wrote it.
She was especially direct about one growing problem. Party supporters going online to hunt down personal information about reporters, things like where they live, who their family members are, even what they look like, often so that this information can be fed into automated systems used to harass them.
“We need to understand that journalists are part and parcel of the process,” Love told parties gathered at the event. It’s a fairly simple idea when you think about it. Reporters aren’t obstacles standing in the way of a campaign. They’re the reason voters actually get to see what’s happening before they vote.
What The Code Of Conduct Actually Covers
None of this is brand new territory for the IEC. Parties sign a version of this code before pretty much every election. What’s changed this time round is the addition dealing with artificial intelligence. With AI tools now so widely available, the Commission has added a requirement that parties disclose it whenever they use AI to generate campaign material, whether that’s a video, a poster, or something posted on social media.
It’s a reasonable move, honestly. AI generated content has gotten good enough that it can be almost impossible to tell from the real thing. A fake video or an edited image can do the rounds on WhatsApp for days before anyone bothers to check whether it’s actually true. Making disclosure compulsory is meant to make it easy for voters to know when something they’re looking at was made by a machine rather than a real campaign moment.
The rest of the code sticks to familiar ground. No incitement to violence. No hate speech. No spreading lies about opponents or about how the voting process actually works. What’s new is that parties can no longer just stay quiet when they spot disinformation floating around. They’re now expected to say something.
Real Consequences For Breaking The Rules
This isn’t just a piece of paper parties sign for the cameras. The IEC has made it clear there are real penalties attached. A party that seriously breaches the code could lose votes off its final count. In worse cases, individual candidates could be disqualified outright.
There’s also a legal side to this. Depending on how serious the breach is, sanctions can range anywhere from fines to jail time. That’s a fairly heavy stick behind what could otherwise sound like a polite ask to play nice.
Here’s a quick look at what the updated code expects, and what parties risk if they don’t stick to it.
| Requirement | What It Means | Possible Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Respect media freedom | No intimidation or attacks on journalists | Fines or disqualification |
| Disclose AI use | Declare when campaign material is AI generated | Sanctions for non disclosure |
| Call out disinformation | Actively flag false information, not just avoid spreading it | Loss of votes for repeated breaches |
| No online trolling | No coordinated harassment of reporters or their families | Criminal penalties possible |
Why This Matters For Voters
It’s easy to look at this and think it’s just politicians squabbling with the press. But it goes further than that. When journalists start second guessing whether it’s safe to report honestly, voters lose access to accurate information right when they need it most. Elections only really work when people trust what they’re seeing and reading about the candidates asking for their vote.
Disinformation has become a fairly simple thing to churn out these days, and a much harder thing to catch. A short clip, a screenshot with fake captions, an AI generated photo, any of these can spread across social media in minutes. By the time someone corrects the record, thousands of people have already seen and believed the lie. That’s really why the IEC is trying to get ahead of this now, before the municipal elections, instead of cleaning up the mess afterward.
The Bigger Picture Ahead Of November 4
What happened in the Western Cape this week is just one piece of a much bigger national push. The IEC has been holding these code of conduct signings all over the country as parties lock in their candidate lists and gear up for the final stretch of campaigning.
Anyone wanting to double check details about the code of conduct, party registrations, or how the whole electoral process works can find that on the Electoral Commission’s official website, www.elections.org.za. It’s still the safest place to verify facts rather than trusting whatever’s doing the rounds on social media. For wider information on government communication and public matters, the South African Government’s official portal is also worth checking.
A Call For Respect, Not Silence
Love was quick to point out that none of this means journalists are beyond criticism. Parties are perfectly entitled to disagree publicly with how they’re being covered. What they can’t do is cross into harassment, digging up someone’s personal details, or organising online pile ons meant to scare a reporter into silence.
With the November elections drawing closer, the IEC’s message to parties is pretty straightforward. Campaign as hard as you like. Just don’t go after the people whose job is to keep voters informed. Whether that message actually sinks in will probably become obvious soon enough, once campaigning really kicks into gear.
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