Police ready for ‘any eventuality’ as local elections kick off

The police ministry has assured that this year’s local government elections will take place in “a safe and secure environment” – despite some disruptive instances. 

Police minister Bheki Cele visited KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday night to assess the readiness of the South African Police Service (Saps). On Saturday, Cele was in Mpumalanga. 

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These two provinces were earmarked due to identified hotspot areas, especially in KZN, which has 128 voting stations in “high-risk” areas. 

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In the province’s Ugu district, local election-related violence broke out over the weekend, resulting in a police officer being shot in the leg.

The Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng have also been deemed high-risk areas. 

“These provinces have received additional Saps officers ahead of the elections and not only that, law enforcement agencies including the SANDF [South African National Defence Force] will be working hand in glove with police as force multipliers. 

“The provinces have put together solid plans informed by intelligence driven analysis and this gives me confidence that those plans will result in citizens casting their votes freely, with little to no disruptions,” Cele said. 

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Should Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials not be able to perform their duties due to safety threats, police officers have also been trained by the IEC to take over duties at voting stations. 

However, Cele assured police would still be performing their duties in policing other crimes.

Additional police deployment in high-risk provinces will take place from Monday until Thursday, when local election results are due to be announced. 

SANDF troops have been on the ground since Saturday, and will remain stationed across the country until Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Xanet Scheepers