Guns, fire in Mandela Bay election chaos
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is set to rerun its ward committee elections in five wards this week following several incidents, including a ballot box being set alight during the recent elections.
Cape Town - The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is set to rerun its ward committee elections in five wards this week following several incidents, including a ballot box being set alight during the recent elections.
In another incident, gunmen are said to have forced their way into a councillor's office while officials were finalising an audit of votes and made off with election material.
“By the time law enforcement officers arrived, the men had already left the offices.
The matter was reported to the police and the municipality’s Safety and Security Directorate is also conducting its own internal investigation,” the municipality said. The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality held its ward committee elections on Wednesday last week.
Following the “disruptive” incidents, the municipality said it will re-do the elections on Wednesday.
Mayco member for Constituency Services councillor Rano Kayser said: “Two wards (ward 7 and ward 49) will go for a re-run due to administrative and also logistical challenges.
In ward 47, it is alleged members of a political party came to the voting station, grabbed the ballot box and election material and walked away.
Ward 46 is where the ballot box was set alight, and in ward 43 is where the gunmen entered at the venue.
We have consulted with all the law enforcement agencies to ensure that we strengthen and re-enforced SAPS, metro police and all the relevant role players.
We are ready and we are also confident that we will conclude the election,” he said.
Kayser said the municipality had taken the decision to tighten security for the elections to make sure that the integrity of the processes was not compromised, and the safety of voting staff and voters was prioritised.
ActionSA Eastern Cape chairperson and former mayor Athol Trollip said the ward committee elections were a complete shambles from start to finish.
“Many voting stations opened hours late and voters left in frustration,“ he said.
The ANC did not respond by deadline.
Cape Times