Some political parties in KwaZulu-Natal have welcomed the deployment of 300 peacekeeping police officers to the province following last week's national and provincial elections. As part of the election security plan, police have deployed an additional 300 peacekeeping police officers to the province.
They say they are being sent to maintain peace and stability after the elections, although some believe they are being sent out as a result of fears of possible violence from parties unhappy with coalition talks or the election results.
Democratic Alliance provincial leader Francois Rogers said: “The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the announcement that additional security forces will be deployed to the province ahead of the sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. Our province has a tragic history of political intolerance and violence, so this is certainly welcome and we hope that these forces have the necessary information from the ground so that any unrest can be dealt with swiftly. We also call on all political leaders and all parties to remain calm and act in the best interests of the province and the people of KwaZulu-Natal.”
Meanwhile, the MK party has welcomed the deployment of additional police forces to the state and has urged its members to remain calm and not get involved in any violence.
“We have not heard of Umkhonto weSizwe being involved in any incidents of political violence. That is why we are calling on our members to remain calm and peaceful. There have been some dissent as you know. We need to wait for commander-in-chief Jacob Zuma to tell us what to do next,” MK party interim regional spokesperson Bonginkosi Dlamini said.
Public Order Police | 300 extra police officers deployed to KZN: