More than 17 000 police officers will be deployed across KwaZulu-Natal during the upcoming election. The security cluster has identified the eThekwini Municipality as having the biggest number of high-risk voting stations in the province.
Following months of preparations, the Electoral Commission (IEC) says it’s comfortably ready for next week’s election.
The province has the second-highest number of registered voters after Gauteng. With over 4 900 voting stations, the IEC says it’s confident of its security systems to track ballot papers.
Security agencies will also be out in full force at every voting station. There will be increased deployments in hotspot areas.
The Ethekwini Metro was identified as having the majority of high-risk stations. Other districts, to get additional police deployments around voting stations, include Amajuba, Uthukela and Zululand.
The provincial government says that there have been fewer incidents of political intolerance than at previous polls. It’s still appealing for peace. Currently, police are investigating 13 cases of election-related crimes.
Video: 2024 Elections – Briefing on KZN police’s state of readiness to maintain stability and order
