Electoral Commissioner Si Mamabolo. Photo by OJ Koloti/Galo Images via Getty Images
The South African Electoral Commission (IEC) has warned against coordinated efforts to undermine the outcome of Wednesday's general election.
Electoral Commission chairman Si Mamabolo told reporters on Tuesday night that law enforcement had arrested two people and that police were investigating two cases of interference in electoral procedures.
The first incident took place in Hendrina, Mpumalanga, when a representative of an unnamed political party chased the speaker as he was returning used ballot boxes to their storage area. Mamabolo said this was in violation of the rule that only commission staff should handle the ballot boxes, adding that one person was arrested on Monday.
He said party agents were free to monitor elections and contest the results but were barred from handling election-related materials.
“Back to Chesterville [in KwaZulu-Natal] “Supporters of a political party went to the speaker's home under cover of night, tied him up and demanded an explanation for the huge amount of material that had been delivered to the police station,” Mamabolo said, adding that one person had been arrested.
“The committee considers this to be a very egregious crime. It is an invasion of the Speaker's privacy and a real violation of his human dignity.”
The IEC chief condemned attempts by some political parties to undermine the IEC's efforts to deliver free and fair elections. He said the commission welcomes and encourages vigilance by candidates and observers in the electoral process, but this must be done within the bounds of the law.
“Interference with the running of election planning and logistics or intimidation of election staff cannot be justified as an act of vigilantism,” he said.
Mamabolo said the commission had addressed concerns about indelible ink after reports that some people had been able to remove the indelible ink and vote multiple times in different polling stations following the 2019 elections.
“Our take on the issue is that the ink doesn't last long. Well, generally speaking, some pens can have ink that doesn't last long if used incorrectly, but you have to evaluate that care against other care,” he said.
“We have to look at this issue in light of the fact that unless you apply you can’t vote elsewhere. [to] If you can't go to the polling place where you are registered, please vote at another polling place.”
Mamabolo said about 360,000 voters were allowed to vote outside their polling districts.
He said 170 organisations have been accredited as election observers, 18 of them international, with members of both the African Union and Southern African Development Community missions already on-site at polling stations.
