Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Digital and Social Media in Elections in Africa

The Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Digital and Social Media in Elections in Africa are aimed at enhancing the capacities of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and other relevant electoral stakeholders to harness the advantages of social media and tackle the adverse effects of new and emerging digital technologies.

The Principles and Guidelines are a human rights-inspired non-binding and persuasive instrument that is meant to address the existing normative gap regarding the use and implications of digital and social media in elections on the continent.

The development of these Principles and Guidelines was inspired by the recommendations of the first-ever Continental Conference for Election Management Bodies that was held in Cape Town in March 2020, South Africa. It was themed “Safeguarding Electoral Integrity in the Digital Age: Strategies for Combatting Digital Disinformation”. It was jointly organised by the Electoral Commission of South Africa, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Cape Town conference noted that, although disinformation and misinformation have existed in offline media like print or analogue broadcast, digital and social media have amplified them, shifting the speed at which information is transmitted, how content is structured, and how people consume and relate to content.

The conference further noted that disinformation and other potential forms of digital harm to human rights have affected the EMBs’ constitutional mandates to organise elections and referenda, and have under-mined efforts to promote peaceful and democratic elections.

In November 2022, the General Assembly of the Association of African Electoral Authorities (AAEA) held in Maputo, Mozambique, and coordinated by the AUC, endorsed the plan to develop these Principles and Guidelines.

The General Assembly mandated the Electoral Commission of South Africa to lead the initiative, working closely with the AUC and AAEA.

In undertaking this mandate, the Electoral Commission was financially supported by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) through the African Renaissance Fund (ARF).