File image of IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo briefing media on the counting progress of votes at Results Operations Centre in May 2019. Mamabolo has confirmed that the unnamed staff member responsible for the leak no longer works for the electoral body. Image: GCIS
IEC fires employee who leaked ANC, MK Party election lists
The IEC staff member was identified and asked to make representations as why they should not be terminated for leaking the election lists.
File image of IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo briefing media on the counting progress of votes at Results Operations Centre in May 2019. Mamabolo has confirmed that the unnamed staff member responsible for the leak no longer works for the electoral body. Image: GCIS
Chief electoral officer of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Sy Mamabolo, says the staff member who leaked the election lists of candidates of the ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, has been terminated.
Mamabolo confirmed to Newzroom Afrika’s Aldrin Sampear on Tuesday morning, 12 March, that the unnamed employee had been identified and asked to make representations as why they should not be terminated from the employ of the electoral body.
IEC takes swift action against the rogue staffer
“Her employment contract with the commission has now been terminated,” Mamabolo said. The IEC chief said they had not yet established what the motive behind the leaking of the election lists was.
Mamabolo also revealed that other parties’ candidate election lists had been downloaded from IEC systems by the fired employee, not just the ANC and MK Party’s.
“Our own determination is that downloads did not only relate to those parties [ANC and MK]. It was a whole lot of other parties that were downloaded,” Mamabolo said
Timeline of events since leak
On Monday, 11 March, IEC released a statement which confirmed that they had identified the workstation responsible for the leak.
“Following investigations over the weekend and early hours of today [Monday], the commission is able to give a preliminary report as follows: The investigation has narrowed the source of the disclosure to a workstation that had been used to generate and store the reports.
“Later, the said reports were deleted from the workstation. Earlier today [Monday] the workstation was secured and imaged in the presence of the staff member whose credentials were used to generate the reports. A forensic analysis of the computer is currently underway,” the IEC said.
Probe launched into leak of election lists
The IEC on Saturday launched an internal investigation after ANC and MK Party’s candidates’ list was leaked last Friday 8 March, with the lists making the rounds on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.
“We have instituted an inquiry to try and establish the source of the distribution of the candidates list as the IEC takes a very dim view of the circulation of personal information,” IEC Deputy Chief Masego Shiburi told Newzroom Afrika over the weekend.
ANC wants culprit found
Following the leak, the ANC said it has conveyed its concerns to the IEC about the unauthorised release of personal information in potential of the contravention of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
“The ANC supports the IEC in any efforts it may pursue to investigate the unauthorised release and hold anyone responsible to account.
“We reiterate that the ANC has and will continue to speak for itself throughout this process on the nature and constitution of the ANC’s candidate list,” ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said.
Additional reporting by Nokwanda Ncwane
