Over 276 300 voters to cast their ballot in Amajuba
SAPS and IEC discuss their preparations to deal with challenges that arise at voting stations.
Approximately 276 300 registered voters will visit one of 222 voting station in the Amajuba District to cast their ballot today, November 4.
Of the 222, voting stations, 13 were identified by SAPS as high-risk, 18 as medium-risk and 191 as low risk.
Amajuba District police commissioner, Major General Fred Alexander, said the number of police officers deployed to each of the voting stations was determined by the risk-status of that voting station.
“There are 1 267 police officers deployed in the Amajuba District to make sure the elections run smoothly,” said Alexander, who added that 137 additional members are on the ground from specialised units such as TRT (the Tactical Response Team) and POP (Public Order Policing).
Alexander further indicated that there were 37 political parties and 1 904 qualifying candidates, including 5 independent candidates, contesting for 136 seats in Amajuba.
IEC prepares 222 voting stations
The IEC reported on Friday, October 30, that it was preparing 127 voting stations in Newcastle, 63 in Dannhauser and 32 in Emadlangeni so the 2026 Local Government Elections get underway without a hitch.
At voting stations where infrastructure challenges were identified, the IEC is working with local municipalities and service providers to make provisions.
In Newcastle, there are 10 voting stations without electricity, while in Emdlangeni there are 9, and in Dannhauser there are 13.
Six voting stations are operating without municipal water supply in Newcastle, while there are eight with similar challenges in Emadlangeni and 14 in Dannhauser.
Nine voting stations in Newcastle, one in Emadlangeni and five in Dannhauser do not have toilets.
Containers of water were procured for voting stations were water supply is unreliable, and Jojo tanks were filled, where they already exist.
In Eskom serviced areas where electricity supply is problematic, due to cable theft, non-payment, etc, Eskom worked to try and resolve these issues ahead of the election.
However, the IEC has procured rechargeable lights for all voting stations as a back-up plan.
Network challenges addressed in Emadlangeni
The IEC further reported that there are eight voting stations in Emadlangeni where it anticipated that network challenges would directly impact its operations today.
In these areas, mobile antennas will be used to boost the signal and some devices that are used to capture votes have been adjusted to work off-line.
Voters who unknowingly used the address of the voting station as their residential address when they registered to vote will be asked to verify their residential address before they are allowed to vote.
Major General Alexander urged that anyone who observes incidents of violence, intimidation or fraudulent activities should report immediately to the police officers deployed at their voting station.
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