The Gauteng Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Provjoints) say they are ready for the elections tomorrow.
In a statement, the Gauteng Provjoints team, under the command of the provincial Commissioner of Police, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, confirmed its readiness to deliver safe and secure elections.
The statement comes after Police Minister, General Bheki Cele, highlighted the readiness of the security forces during the upcoming general elections.
The elections kicked off on Monday, 6 May, with special votes being cast.
“Gauteng activated the initial deployment that successfully delivered rallies of four political parties during the weekend in Johannesburg, Soweto, and the West Rand districts, with limited incidents reported,” said the statement.
Intelligence-driven deployments will take place during the election period, responsive deployments will also take place according to threat assessment at each voting station.
There are more than 2 760 voting stations in Gauteng and Provjoints has put measures in place to prevent possible security breaches.
Things like intimidation of voters and electoral officers, obstruction of voting and the voting process, public violence, malicious damage to property, theft and common robbery, are all security breaches identified during previous elections.
“Furthermore, the safety of children during this election period cannot be over-emphasised. Parents must at all times be aware of the whereabouts of their children,” said the statement.
It continued to inform parents that there is no waiting period to report a missing person.
“Delays in reporting a missing person could further compromise their prospects of being found.”
The Electoral Commission of South Africa has also published a handbook about electoral offences, and has clear illustrations of the possible fines if such an offence occurs.
For example, a fine or imprisonment of five to 10 years could be delivered, depending on the offence.
“Members of the public are urged to familiarise themselves with the content of this handbook, or alternatively, simply to refrain from acts of criminality and disruptive behaviour.”
According to the statement, the public must also respect the authority of the presiding officer as the person in charge of the voting station.
“Safety and security forms an integral part of the IEC’s mandate to deliver free and fair elections. The police thus need peace-loving and law-abiding citizens to work with us during these elections, and together fight any criminal element that seeks to frustrate the delivery of crime-free elections,” said Mawela, while calling for enhanced community-police relations during the election period and afterwards.
