Gareth Cliff Praises IEC As “Unsung Heroes” of Local Government Elections

• Gareth Cliff took to social media on election day to applaud the IEC for their handling of the Local Government Elections
• He praised the Commission for their professionalism, noting that there were very few issues to raise
• The broadcaster's praise came on the heels of fierce backlash over his predictions about the United States election results

Gareth Cliff has found something worth celebrating closer to home. The broadcaster and former Idols SA judge praised the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in an X post on 4 November 2026, calling them "unsung heroes" for pulling off the Local Government Elections with minimal hiccups.

"Listen, the unsung hero of these elections is the @IECSouthAfrica - they managed to get just about everything done, in time, with only a handful of issues," Cliff wrote. "That's very impressive. Congratulations!"

Cliff's US election predictions backfire

The kind words come after a torrid few days for Cliff on social media. A day earlier, on 3 November, he had posted on X anticipating what he described as a spectacle of "mainstream media talking heads, pollsters, newspaper editors and out-of-touch academics" scrambling for excuses after the United States election. He also singled out Abdul El-Sayed, Hillary Clinton, Kara Swisher, and Hasan Piker, labelling them "pretty much all the worst people in America."

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The US results, however, delivered a Democratic Blue Wave - directly at odds with what Cliff appeared to expect. That opened the door wide for his critics.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, known for holding South African public figures to account, was among the first to respond. Chin'ono pointed out that the analysts Cliff had dismissed were working from data, while Cliff had been guided by his own bias. His post drew considerable attention and was quickly followed by a wave of social media users who questioned Cliff's political judgement and his track record as a commentator on international affairs.

Despite the criticism, Cliff showed no signs of stepping back from public debate, choosing instead to shift focus to local ground and credit the IEC for their work during the elections.

See Gareth Cliff's latest post below.

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Source: Briefly News