ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont noted on Monday that his party will advocate for the regulation of the polling industry, which he said operates with impunity albeit “enabled by the vital democratic institution of a free and independent media”.

ActionSA has claimed that three media outlets published a poll on March 10 without any reference to the origin of the poll, following a previous instance in August.

“In both instances it is believed that the poll in question was a Democratic Alliance (DA) poll shared with these media institutions and, in turn, deliberately published without reference to the age-old question of cui bono – who benefits? The journalist goes as far as to confirm the poll was shared confidentially and that its origins are an institution with ‘an excellent track record’ in polling,” Beaumont said.

He said in the instance of the most recent poll, the outcomes placed the DA at record levels of support, something he said appeared at odds with a party that had lost support in all demographics.

Further, the polls show that the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are growing prodigiously.

He said in the media publishing the poll, the DA benefited from the artificial illusion of growth from a poll, which they themselves supply, placing them at 19% in KZN (up from 13% in 2019) and 30% in Gauteng (up from 27% in 2019).

Beaumont said, similarly, the poll generated the narrative of “rooi gewaar” through “alarming” growing figures of MK and EFF support, which he added is a “favoured” campaign approach of the DA to animate its core support base.

Beaumont highlighted that this week the Brenthurst Foundation produced a poll which placed the DA’s support at 27% (up from 20% in 2019).

Similarly, he said the poll painted the picture of surging MK support at 13% – adding that was a practical impossibility for a party whose support was almost entirely limited to KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Mpumalanga.

“However, like the other polls referenced, it is helpful to paint a narrative of DA growth and the useful stick to whip out the vote against the threat of a growing left alliance. The Brenthurst Foundation is the same body that paid for the DA Federal leader to travel to the Ukraine at the outbreak of the Russian invasion,” he noted.

He said the consequence of polls could not be overestimated in South Africa where political momentum mattered, adding that this was why many countries had elected to regulate the polling industry.

He said polls in South Africa had no regulation and were open to abuse that appeared to be designed to influence electoral trends in South Africa.

He noted that while the party would file a complaint with the Press Ombudsman and a complaint with the Independent Electoral Commission – in terms of misinformation – it would push for regulations that did not currently exist in South Africa.