TikTok and South Africa's Electoral Commission have launched an in-app Election Centre ahead of the 4 November local government elections, the country's sixth. It gives users official information on voting and key dates in South African languages, tips on spotting misinformation, and a hub on identifying AI-generated content. Election-related posts now carry labels and search banners that link to it.

"As more South Africans engage with information through digital platforms, it is essential that trusted resources are easily accessible and that misinformation is actively addressed," said Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo.

The Electoral Commission, still widely called the IEC, is older than most people realise. An interim Independent Electoral Commission ran the first democratic election in 1994, and the permanent body was set up by the Electoral Commission Act of 1996 as one of the Constitution's Chapter 9 institutions, the independent bodies meant to protect democracy.

It’s led by five commissioners, one of whom must be a judge. A panel headed by the President of the Constitutional Court shortlists candidates, the President appoints them for seven years, and they cannot have a high party-political profile. The Commission answers to Parliament rather than the government, and its decisions can be challenged in a dedicated Electoral Court.

It runs national, provincial and municipal elections, keeps the voters' roll, and by law must work with political parties as the referee. Its role online is newer. Since 2024, it has had a Framework of Cooperation with Google, Meta, TikTok and the watchdog Media Monitoring Africa. Members of the public report suspected disinformation on a site called Real411, a panel of experts in media law and digital media reviews it, and the Commission can refer cases to the platforms, which have committed to prioritise those referrals during elections.

TikTok says it removed about 90,000 South African videos for breaking its rules on elections, misinformation and harmfully misleading AI content between January and March this year, more than 99% of them before anyone reported them. It bans paid political advertising, but lets official election bodies such as the IEC advertise voter information.

TechFinancials carried TikTok's announcement, including Tholoana Ncheke-Mahlaela, its government relations and public policy lead for Southern Africa, describing the centre as part of a commitment to a safe, informed and authentic election experience.

SAnews reported the original agreement between the Commission, the platforms and Media Monitoring Africa, and how Real411 complaints are handled. The Legal Resources Centre notes that X, formerly Twitter, never signed the framework, and argues the arrangement still has clear shortfalls.

The election centre is useful, and TikTok's removal numbers show the scale of what moderation now has to handle. But it is worth understanding what holds the system together. South Africa's protection against election misinformation online is a voluntary agreement, not a law. The Commission can refer content, but the platforms decide what to remove under their own rules.

X is not part of the framework at all, and WhatsApp, where much local misinformation spreads through private groups, is far harder for anyone to monitor. This is also the first set of local elections in which convincing AI-generated video is cheap and widely available, which is why TikTok has added an AI literacy hub.

For readers, the practical step is simple: if you see election content that looks false, report it on Real411 rather than sharing it, and check anything surprising against the Commission's own channels. Platforms setting their own rules is a theme well beyond elections, from X disclosing government takedown requests to Australia legislating algorithm opt-outs.

You might also like our piece on TikTok's Creator Rewards excluding South Africa, AI-built SARS eFiling scams, and OpenAI watermarking ChatGPT text in the EU.

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