By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) Deputy Chief Masego Sheburi says the leaking of African National Congress (ANC) candidates list was from one of its employees.
Sheburi says the matter is regrettable and an internal inquiry has since been instituted.
“The preliminary indications are that the unauthorised disclosure has all the hallmarks of reports generated on the internal administrative systems of the electoral commission so we can almost exclude a breach of security or a breach of data from outside. We think the disclosure unauthorised was done by one of our staff members.”
Sheburi added that the IEC has reported the leaks to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
The documents now in the public domain include the personal information like ID numbers of the candidates included on the ANC lists.
“The Commission has authorised an inquiry to try to trace the circumstances under which the list was disclosed and the identity of the person or persons who may be capable of the release of the list.
“We have also reported the unauthorised disclosure to the Information Regulator as required by the Protection of Personal Information Act because the list contains personal information of data subjects.”
Adding to that, the IEC has also taken additional measures through the night on Friday to prevent any further leaks of election lists.
“The Commission has authorised an inquiry to understand the circumstances and the intent behind the disclosure so that appropriate actions can be taken. As we became aware of the breach over night, we have further limited the number of people who have access to those reports, because the number was always limited. But we further limited it so that we safe guard against any other additional unauthorised disclosures.”
ANC on Saturday expressed dismay that its candidate list sent to the IEC has been leaked and broadcast online.
Without denying or confirming the accuracy of the list circulating on social media, the ANC said: “We have noted with concern that ANC candidate lists that appear to emanate from the IEC online candidate nomination system are now circulating on social media.”
“We have conveyed our concerns to the IEC about this unauthorised release of personal information in potential contravention of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).”
The ANC said it submitted its National and Provincial candidate lists for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections via the IEC’s online candidate nomination system (OCNS) on Friday, (8 March 2024), as stipulated in the Electoral Timetable.
While the governing party says it subjected candidates to rigorous vetting processes, some of the members implicated in the State Capture report made it onto the list.
The candidates will form part of the ANC’s public representatives in the Provincial legislatures and Parliament after the 29 May election.