Election 2026: Can the IEC’s results system withstand another high-stakes poll?

The true measure of digital readiness extends beyond technology itself. As South Africa prepares for next week’s local government elections, attention is on not only voting stations and ballot boxes but also the digital systems that capture, process and publish election results. South Africans will head to the highly anticipated polls on 4 November 2026 as several communities battle service-delivery issues. Digital readiness According to Nkuli Mbundu of BCX, the true measure of digital readiness goes beyond technology itself and depends on whether interconnected systems, people, and processes can withstand pressure when public institutions are under scrutiny. LIVE interactive map, latest news, multimedia and more! View Map Mbundu said election technology often appears straightforward to the public, especially when results are displayed through online dashboards, but warned that complex operations happen behind the scenes. “On election night, a results dashboard can make an enormously complex national undertaking look deceptively simple. Behind every published result is a chain of responsibilities, people, systems, networks and controls that must work together under pressure.” Real test She argued that digital readiness should not be assessed based on the performance of individual systems alone. “The real test of digital readiness is whether the dependencies between infrastructure, applications, access, data, security, suppliers and operational teams are understood, managed and resilient when demand is high, and the consequences of disruption are significant.” Mbundu noted that operational challenges can arise even when individual components appear to be functioning normally. “A network may be available while an application is inaccessible. A security control may be operating as designed while an authorised team cannot reach the information it needs. Individual components tell only part of the story.” Cybersecurity With election-related systems expected to come under intense scrutiny during the voting and results process, she stressed the importance of preparedness, coordination and clear lines of responsibility. Cybersecurity, she said, must also be viewed as part of broader operational resilience rather than as a standalone issue. “The goal is not to promise that risk can be eliminated. It is to design proportionate safeguards, monitoring and response arrangements around the information and services an institution is responsible for protecting.” Responsibility Mbundu emphasised that while technology providers can support electoral operations, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) remains responsible for administering elections. “The IEC independently administers the election, including the counting, verification and declaration of results. Technology partners support defined aspects of the enabling environment; they do not count votes, verify results or determine electoral outcomes.” Audit Earlier this month, the IEC completed an independent external audit of its Election Results System as part of its preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections. According to the commission, the system captures and collates election results and allocates seats to contesting parties and candidates. In June 2026, former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party hit back at accusations that its bid to overturn the 2024 election results was an act of a “grumpy loser”. The party insisted that a two‑hour blackout of the IEC’s live results dashboard may have compromised the integrity of the polls.