‘Limpopo is no playground’: Police chief warns election disruptors - IOL

Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Jan Scheepers has warned that disruptions and violence during the November 4 local government elections will not be tolerated.

Limpopo provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Jan Scheepers has warned those planning to disrupt the November 4 local government elections that anyone who treats the province as a “playground” will be making a huge mistake.

Scheepers issued the stern warning on Wednesday during a media briefing with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on the province’s state of readiness for the elections.

He said police were prepared to maintain law and order and ensure voters could cast their ballots in a peaceful environment.

“We will make sure that throughout what we've implemented in this province, we are going to make sure the elections will be free. It will be fair. Nobody will be intimidated,” Scheepers said.

“I want to thank all of our stakeholders for being part of us and making sure that come the 4th, Limpopo will enjoy the day. It will not be a day of crisis.”

He said every eligible voter should be able to exercise their democratic right without fear or intimidation.

“It doesn't matter who you are, because the message is very clear. Everybody will vote.”

Scheepers said residents deserved to visit voting stations and freely choose the political party or candidate they wanted to support.

He warned that anyone attempting to interfere with this right would face a firm response from law enforcement.

“So if you interfere with the freedom of the people of this province, which will not be tolerated, do it with a combative approach. But if you have to stop there, that's only the start of your problems,” he said.

He added that police would adopt both proactive and reactive approaches, with the criminal justice system playing a role in ensuring that those arrested faced the consequences of their actions.

Scheepers acknowledged that people had the right to protest, sing and celebrate, but stressed that these activities had to remain within the law and respect the rights of others.

“If any person comes to this province and thinks this province is a playground, you make a huge mistake,” he warned.

He also assured residents that police would remain on duty to respond to incidents and investigate any alleged violations of their rights.

“We will not sleep. We will not go home. If there's any person in this province where somebody interfered with you or had rights, all these rights, we will not go to sleep until we solve them,” he said.

Scheepers said security operations would cover the pre-election, election and post-election periods, adding that police would remain vigilant even after the results were announced.

He urged political parties and their supporters to accept the outcome of the elections, whether they won or lost, and to express their reactions within the confines of the law.

“Please let us celebrate. Let us take the loss if it's your time to lose. Let us take those within the parameters of law. Without making the life of the next person impoverished,” he said.

Meanwhile, IEC Provincial Electoral Officer Itumeleng Seanego said preparations were being intensified across staffing, voting materials, technology, security coordination and results management to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

He said more than 99% of electoral staff had been recruited and trained, with a contingency plan in place to replace staff across all districts.

Limpopo has 3,037,387 registered voters across 3,315 voting districts, with 568 municipal wards spread across five districts and 22 municipalities.

Seanego said the province would conduct 595 elections, covering ward elections, district proportional representation and local council proportional representation.

A total of 18,058 candidates have been registered to contest the elections, while 903 candidates have been disqualified, he said.

The IEC has also received all batches of ballot papers, with quality assurance processes completed.

“The ballot printing process, the delivery thereof, has gone very well… We are at the tail end of that preparation,” Seanego said.

He said 4,512 voter management devices were being prepared for deployment, with more than 99% already processed and allocated to municipalities.

Seanego said the IEC had approved 341,809 special votes in Limpopo ahead of election day.

These include 232,339 votes at designated voting stations and 109,470 home visits.

Special voting will take place on Monday, November 2, and Tuesday, November 3.

He urged voters whose applications for home visits had been approved to remain available for electoral officials.

“Voters who have applied for home visits must ensure that they are at home between the hours of 8 in the morning and 5pm until they are visited by REC officials,” he said.

The IEC has shared its home-visit plans with political parties and candidates to allow party agents to accompany electoral officials during the process.

Seanego said the provincial Results Operations Centre would be hosted at Ranch Resorts in Polokwane and serve as the central hub for collating and processing election results.

Independent audit firm Nexia SAB&T has been appointed to audit the results, with audit teams stationed at local offices and the provincial results centre.

He said political parties and candidates have also been granted virtual access to the results-processing technology to strengthen transparency.

“These measures are intended to promote transparency, accountability and confidence in the results management process,” Seanego said.

He said the IEC's technology readiness assessment currently stands at 95% application readiness.

Two system dry runs, conducted on October 1 and October 26, were aimed at testing operational systems and identifying potential challenges.

Seanego said political parties had also been invited to send IT experts to audit the Commission's results systems.