South Africa Election Security Tally: 57 Dockets From 85 Voting Day Incidents, Politically Motivated Murders Reach 21

Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, co-chairperson of South Africa's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), told a security briefing on Thursday evening, November 5, that 85 incidents were reported across the country on Voting Day, November 4, of the Local Government Elections, with police registering 57 criminal case dockets and arresting 27 suspects.

By province, KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most cases with 15, followed by Limpopo with 11, the Eastern Cape with 10, Gauteng with eight, the Western Cape with four, Mpumalanga and the North West with three each, the Free State with two and the Northern Cape with one. The 57 dockets included 32 cases relating to contraventions of the Electoral Act, four assaults, two cases of malicious damage to property, two intimidation cases, one theft, two cases of crimen injuria, one case of drunk and disorderly conduct, one public violence case, one business burglary and one fraud case.

"The fact that 27 suspects were arrested on Voting Day demonstrates the responsiveness and operational effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. These interventions reinforce a clear position that the electoral environment is protected by the rule of law, and intimidation, violence, electoral misconduct and criminality will not be tolerated," Mosikili said.

During the two special voting days on November 2 and 3, police registered 65 criminal case dockets and arrested 32 suspects. Mosikili said the security response extended beyond maintaining visibility and preventing incidents to apprehending suspects, investigations and advancing criminal matters through the justice system.

During the election period, police registered 21 cases of murder classified as politically motivated in relation to the elections, including the recent murder of an MK Party member in KwaZulu-Natal — one more than the 20 cases reported before election day. Police are also processing murder cases that occurred outside voting stations and outside voting hours in the post-election phase, including a 57-year-old man shot dead in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, in the early hours of Thursday, a man stabbed to death at a park in Polokwane, Limpopo, where a 35-year-old suspect was arrested, and a man attacked and killed while walking home on Voting Day in KwaZulu-Natal.

Cooperation between law enforcement and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) also enabled swift interventions, including action against IEC officials implicated in alleged electoral transgressions, and police acted against a person in KwaZulu-Natal who arrived at a voting station in a vehicle displaying political party branding. Mosikili said the Security Cluster remains on the ground, alert and operationally ready until the electoral process is formally concluded, while the IEC continues counting, reconciling, verifying and capturing the election results, with law enforcement focused on protecting voting materials and securing the results process.

Related:

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(Source: South Africa's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure)

Source: 南非国家联合行动与情报结构

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：NATJOINTS 联合主席 Tebello Mosikili 中将11月5日晚间作选举安保简报。SAnews 供图，南非政府新闻署授权媒体免费使用并注明出处。 / Photo: NATJOINTS co-chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili briefs the media on election security on November 5. Photo by SAnews, provided for free media use with credit to SAnews.

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