Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana says law enforcement is well prepared and ready to ensure a free and safe election for communities.
- Gauteng has the second-highest number of high-risk voting stations. KwaZulu-Natal has the most.
- Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana has promised a safe election even with the high-risk voting stations.
- South Africans go to the polls this week to elect local government representatives.
- For more election news, visit News24 Politics.
Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana says there are 119 high-risk voting stations in the province, but law enforcement is well prepared and ready to ensure a free and safe election for communities.
Speaking at a media briefing by Premier Panyaza Lesufi to address interventions of gender-based violence and femicide in the province, Kekana was also asked about the preparedness of the police ahead of the local government election.
South Africans will start going to the polls on Monday and Tuesday, with those registered for the special vote, with the main election taking place on Wednesday.
READ | The death poll: At least 50 killed in election season of extreme violence
Kekana said there are 2 836 voting stations in the province, of which 119 are high-risk, 371 are medium-risk, and 2 336 are low-risk.
He revealed that 75 of the high-risk voting stations are in the City of Johannesburg, 14 in Tshwane, 23 in Ekurhuleni, three in the West Rand, and just one in Sedibeng.
“But I can assure you that we are ready; we are ready now. And all the plans are integrated, working with all role players: our local traffic [police], our private security companies, and the SANDF deployed in the province. All the voting stations, [including] the high-risk ones, are given that special level of planning, resources, and guarding, ensuring that nothing goes wrong,” said Kekana.
He added:
Our communities must be assured we are ready as law enforcement. We will ensure that nothing goes wrong at all voting stations, including these high-risk ones. Our communities must feel free and be comfortable that we will be there to ensure their safety and that things run smoothly.
News24 reported last week that National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola disclosed that eThekwini metro is the country’s single biggest election security hotspot, with 124 of its voting stations classified as high-risk as a wave of political assassinations cast a shadow over this week’s local government elections.
On Sunday, this publication reported that at least 50 people had been murdered ahead of the polls. KwaZulu-Natal accounts for the most attacks, with the MK Party, ANC and IFP hardest hit.
READ | The death poll: At least 50 killed in election season of extreme violence
Masemola, speaking at a media briefing last week, said he was confident, after a nationwide readiness assessment, that “the necessary measures have been put in place and that the SAPS is ready to discharge its responsibility of ensuring safe, secure and peaceful elections”.
Nationwide, 331 voting stations have been identified as high-risk. They are in areas where there is a high likelihood of unrest, particularly around service delivery protests.
Bongekile Macupe
www.news24.com
