Cape Town — Gauteng provincial police commissioner, Tommy Nthombeni, confirmed that some people were arrested at voting stations for unruly behaviour both inside and outside the polling stations.
Millions of South Africans took to the polls on Wednesday in what was the country’s seventh democratic elections and one of the main security concerns was security at the respective polling stations.
Nthombeni said measures were put in place to ensure disruptions were addressed and he confirmed that some of the arrests were linked to unruly behaviour, EWN reported.
“You’ll find that people become excited and they take pictures of the ballot which is not allowed and others you find that they had squabbles at the voting lines and ultimately one opens a case against the other.” he said.
#sapsGP Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni was joined by the DG for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Advocate Doctor Mashabane and Ekurhuleni Chief of Police Isaac Mapeyeye when he visited the Provincial Results Operation… pic.twitter.com/92ecs8MtQb
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) May 29, 2024
As reported by IOL, Mthombeni said there were 20 arrests were made in the province in election-related incidents.
“Indeed it was a little bit challenging in terms of ensuring that the communities are, and feel safe, but we were in a position to restore order. I can confirm that since our last update, the number of the cases reported has indeed gone up and currently we are having 20 within the province,” Mthombeni said.
“Some of the issues are some typical cases of intolerance by the voters where they ended up in a scuffle, and then they fight. Ultimately, one of the voters will approach the police and open a case. Those are some of the cases which we have picked up recently,” he added.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
