ActionSA welcomes SANEF call for greater circumspection on SA polls

19 March 2024

ActionSA welcomes a communication advisory by SANEF counselling members of the media towards greater circumspection on publishing polls during this 2024 election campaign period.

This advisory follows recent polls that have been heavily criticised for their methodologies, their origins or the lack of information associated with these important points that determine credibility. It also comes a day after ActionSA has filed complaints about the publication of questionable polls and issued a call for greater regulation of the industry.

South Africa is a young democracy, and we are having to come to grips with how influence can be brought to bear on election outcomes. With political momentum being a factor in the political choices of many South Africans, either consciously or subconsciously, our electoral democracy is vulnerable to agendas that dressed up as polls.

This is precisely why France has regulations governing the publication of polls during election campaigns, why Canadian pollsters must register with their electoral agency and why, in Brazil, political polling companies must register with their Superior Electoral Court to provide information on the sponsorship of the poll, its methodology and its margin of error.

ActionSA welcomes the call by SANEF and praises the leadership of its Chairperson, Sbu Ngalwa, for safeguarding the vital responsibility of the media to protect the idea that these elections should be an unadulterated expression of the democratic will of South Africans.

Issued by Michael Beaumont, ActionSA National Chairperson, 19 March 2024