Journal of Advanced Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Human-Machine Interaction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Role in Electoral Integrity in the Context of the 2024 South African General Elections -A Policy Analysis Paper
Abstract
John Maphephe
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly reshaping electoral processes worldwide, offering opportunities for enhanced security, efficiency, and transparency, while simultaneously creating new risks of disinformation, bias, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Despite growing scholarly attention, limited research examines these dynamics in African democracies. This paper provides a policy-focused analysis of AI’s role in South Africa’s 2024 General Elections, one of the continent’s most significant democratic exercises. Using a qualitative case study approach, it documents the deployment of AI- enabled biometric systems, cybersecurity tools, and real-time monitoring platforms by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The analysis highlights both the benefits—such as fraud prevention, improved voter verification, and cyber threat detection—and the challenges, including limited transparency, unequal access to digital tools, and gaps in data protection frameworks. Theoretically, the study contributes to debates on AI as a dual-use governance technology, and empirically, it offers one of the first systematic accounts of AI in an African election. The paper concludes with policy recommendations emphasizing institutional capacity building, transparency, and voter trust in the digital age.