Any voter in yesterday’s South African election who witnessed another taking a “selfie” of themselves and their ballot paper can lay a charge against the individual, according to Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya.
The South African Press Association (SAPA) reports Moepya said any individual could launch action against another.
“Anyone that is aware of prohibited conduct can lay a charge,” he was quoted as saying at the IEC results centre in Pretoria.
HumanIPO reported this week the IEC had warned against voters taking “selfies”, saying individuals should respect the “privacy and secrecy of the vote”.
“The popularity of selfies – a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone – along with a number of social media campaigns promoting voting selfies, has increased the risk of undermining the secrecy of the vote,” the IEC said.
Moepya said ballot box “selfies” are in contravention of election regulation 38 (1A), which reads: “No person may make a photographic or any other form of image of a ballot paper which has been marked by a voter on election day or on a day on which special votes are cast.”
However Moepya said the IEC could not act on the complaints.
“The electoral commission does not have police cells, it [the electoral regulations] does say anyone can lay a charge, even I can lay a charge as the chief electoral officer for that purpose.”
The aftermath of yesterday’s elections has seen a wave of activity on Twitter, including some high profile individuals identifying their voting preferences on their ballots and the IEC website going down.
This morning users attempting to access the site to monitor the counting process were greeted with a “service unavailable” message.
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