Police deployed after supporters storm IEC warehouses in KZN

Police had to be called in to secure Electoral Commission warehouses in KwaZulu-Natal after supporters of a political party forcibly entered a storage site where election material is kept.

Briefing the media on Tuesday on the last day of special voting, KZN Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the main incident took place on Monday night as officials were returning material from special votes.

She said a group of supporters linked to one of the contesting parties pushed into the precinct of a satellite storage facility housed at the Dassenhoek library.

Masinga told journalists that law enforcement had to step in to contain the situation, adding that nothing was interfered with.

"The SAPS intervened and the crowd was dispersed. No material was tampered with or compromised," she said.

According to Masinga, Dassenhoek was not the only area affected. She said there were similar disturbances in Richmond, uMkhambathini and Pietermaritzburg, where party members allegedly attempted to enter IEC premises or leave their own private security personnel there.

In all cases, police restored calm and secured the sites.

"Similar attempts were reported in Richmond, uMkhambathini and Pietermaritzburg where political parties tried to gain access or post their private guards. The SAPS successfully intervened and order was restored," she said.

Masinga said the conduct goes against the Electoral Code of Conduct that all parties committed to uphold ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

"Such transgressions to the Electoral Code of Conduct are regrettable given that all contestants have signed to adhere to the code of conduct," she said.

She raised concern over a growing pattern of people trying to locate and access IEC storage sites, a trend she said has been observed since 2024.

"Our storage facilities are not public facilities and there's no reason for people to know where we store our materials. People should be worried about only whether there's sufficient material at voting stations and that they arrive on time," Masinga said.

"Since 2024, we have been experiencing incidents of people having an interest in our storage facilities."

The KZN incidents follow the arrest of two suspects in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, who allegedly posed as IEC officials to try and collect voting material.

Masinga also confirmed a separate breach of protocol involving an election official.

A presiding officer was removed from duty after she was spotted carrying election material while boarding an e-hailing vehicle wrapped in party branding.

"On investigation, it was established that the e-hailing taxi did belong to the presiding officer concerned and it was driven by her son," she said.

"The commission subsequently terminated the services of the presiding officer on the grounds of transporting election material in a vehicle branded with party colours and logo."

Despite the security incidents, Masinga said special voting was continuing. By late Tuesday afternoon, 133 931 special votes had been cast in the province out of 362 878 approved applications, representing 37% turnout for special votes in KZN.