IEC investigates after empty ballot boxes stolen at KZN voting station - IOL

KwaZulu-Natal Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga says the theft of three ballot boxes and other voting equipment during an overnight break-in at Amashongo Community Hall will not affect special voting.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has launched an investigation after ballot boxes and other voting material were stolen during an overnight break-in at a KwaZulu-Natal voting station, as special voting got underway across the province on Monday.

KwaZulu-Natal Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the break-in occurred at Amahlongwa Community Hall in Zambeni, in the Umdoni Municipality.

A batch containing three ballot boxes, along with stationery, was stolen from the voting station. A case has been opened at the Umkomaas police station, and the matter is under investigation.

Masinga said the theft would not affect the special voting process.

“Currently it will have no impact whatsoever on the process because we only supply more than enough ballot boxes at voting stations,” she said.

National Strategic Stakeholder Management Officer Mawethu Mosery said the stolen items were ballot boxes and ballot booths, which were non-security materials and could be replaced.

“What was stolen is ballot boxes and ballot booths, not ballot papers,” Mosery said.

He said ballot papers and the stamps used to validate them were kept under secure storage.

“What we secure is the stamp for the ballot paper, which must go under security, as well as the ballot papers. So there are no ballot papers stored out there. They are in our secure storage,” he said.

The break-in was among several incidents reported as special voting began in the province.

Masinga said all voting stations where special voting had been scheduled were now operational.

KwaZulu-Natal has 5,028 voting stations, but 40 did not open because no special vote applications had been received in those areas.

A handful of voting stations in eThekwini did not open at exactly 8 am because of the late arrival of SAPS members who were meant to escort electoral officials to the stations.

The IEC also had to intervene at a voting station in Lamontville after a landlord initially caused difficulties over access to the venue.

Masinga said the matter was resolved after SAPS intervened.

The province has approved 362,878 special vote applications. Of these, 58% are for voting station visits, while the rest are for home visits.

The IEC said weather conditions remained a concern as teams travelled to voters who had been approved to cast their ballots from home.

Masinga said the commission was particularly concerned about reaching voters with mobility challenges, elderly and physically infirm voters and heavily pregnant women.

“We would really want to visit all those people,” she said.

She said the IEC would assess how many voters it had reached by the end of Monday and could increase the number of teams conducting home visits on Tuesday if weather conditions affected operations.

Masinga said voters who were not reached during the special voting period would not be disenfranchised.

“If you can't go these two days, you can go even if you were approved for a home visit. You can still go to the voting station on the 4th of November like everyone else because you wouldn't have voted,” she said.

The weather also poses a challenge for 148 voting stations in the province using temporary tent structures because permanent facilities are not available.

Masinga said service providers had been placed on standby to re-erect tents should they be damaged by bad weather.

Masinga said an incident at Umzinto Town Hall was resolved after party agents demanded information about the IEC's storage facilities and logistics plans.

She said the commission had made it clear that its storage arrangements were not for public disclosure. SAPS and party liaison structures intervened to prevent the incident from disrupting the voting process.

The IEC also confirmed that a deputy presiding officer in Bergville was hit by a car while travelling to a voting station on Monday morning.

She was taken to hospital, and Masinga said the commission hoped she would make a speedy recovery.

Voting stations will close at 5 pm on Monday and Tuesday for special voting. People who are already at a voting station at 5 pm will continue to be processed.

Voters can check whether their special vote applications have been approved by sending their ID numbers to 32711. The IEC's toll-free number, 0800 11 8000, is also available for election-related queries.

The commission is expected to provide an update on the number of special votes administered during its next briefing on Tuesday.