Safety measures for the elections
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has put measures in place to protect citizens as they exercise their constitutional right to vote on November 1.
In a statement, the government said that all relevant security-aligned departments, within the three spheres of government, had worked tirelessly to ensure the successful delivery of the elections.
“NATJOINTS has put together an election security plan that is managed by national, provincial, district and local JOINTS structures of the JCPS Cluster,” the government said. “This plan will ensure that there is sufficient police visibility in and around the voting stations around the country to prevent crime and/or intimidation of voters and other role-players.
“Furthermore, members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) will be deployed at the provincial results centres to ensure the integrity of the finalisation of the results.”
SAPS will be assisted by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and police reservists will also be deployed if needed in hotspot areas.
“The Intelligence Coordinating Committee (ICC) has conducted a security threat assessment and they have assured us that the situation in the country is relatively stable, which is conducive to free and fair elections,” NATJOINTS said.
“The ICC has conducted a security threat assessment in all voting districts, which has resulted in the categorisation of each voting station into high, medium and low risk and the police will deploy accordingly.
“All forms of criminality will not be tolerated before, during and after the voting period. We would like to remind South Africans that the incitement of violence is also a criminal offence. Interfering with the work of IEC officers is also a transgression that is punishable by law.”
In the briefing on Monday, the security cluster said members were encouraged by the continuous monitoring and evaluation by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked by President Cyril Ramaphosa to end political violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
It has been looking into political murders dating back to May 2018.
The prosecutorial-led investigations have ensured water-tight cases and heavy sentences being handed down to the killers of political players in KZN.
“There is no doubt that the task team has prevented more bloodshed in the province,” the cluster said. “It has been instrumental in bringing simmering political tensions under control and ensuring that the rule of law is restored through justice for victims of political crimes.”
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA), meanwhile, has extended its operating hours to provide citizens with the documents they need to be able to vote, including Smart ID cards, green barcoded IDs and temporary identity certificates, all of which are accepted by the IEC.
On Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31 and Monday, November 1, all 412 DHA offices will open from 7am to 9pm.
The government also confirmed that, in accordance with the Amended Electoral Act 4 of 2021, provision had been made for the establishment of an electoral court to deal with electoral disputes and complaints about infringements of the electoral code of conduct.
It will also investigate any allegation of misconduct, incapacity or incompetence of members of the IEC.
The NATJOINTS urged all political party leaders not to make inflammatory statements which had the potential to incite violence in their communities.