South Africa proposes amendments to regulate political opinion polls

(MENAFN) South African political party ActionSA has proposed amendments to the Electoral Commission Act and the Electoral Act to regulate the conduct, publication, and dissemination of political opinion polls during and prior to election periods, aligning with international best practices.

The draft Electoral Laws Amendment Bill 2025, introduced by ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni, seeks to address existing gaps in legislation by establishing the Office of the Polling Ombud—a new oversight body within the Electoral Commission of South Africa. The office would be tasked with regulating political opinion and exit polling.

The proposal outlines powers for the office to register polling organizations, enforce compliance, issue fines, and ensure transparency in political polling. It would also require mandatory registration and disclosure of information by polling entities and set specific timeframes for when polling results may or may not be published.

Under the draft bill, the official printing or publication of a political opinion poll linked to an election would be prohibited within seven days of that election.

ActionSA cited concerns stemming from an incident during last year’s national and provincial elections, when a controversial poll was released without identifying the commissioning party or the organization that conducted it. Reports indicated the data was anonymously attributed to a media outlet. Following a complaint, the original publisher was found guilty of violating sections of the press code and was ordered to issue corrections.

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