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Ballot boxes stolen from KZN voting station as special voting begins

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Ongoing: Elections Hot

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said empty ballot boxes and a training module were stolen from Amahlongwa Community Hall in Zambeni. Replacement material was delivered and the station was operational, the IEC said, ahead of Wednesday's local government elections.

The IEC said the theft was reported to the uMkomaas police station. It also reported other incidents in its KwaZulu-Natal special voting update, including police escort and vehicle delays. The commission said the delays and problems at voting stations had been attended to.

In Umzinto, MK Party members approached a voting station at Umzinto Town Hall and asked for information about how election material is distributed. The IEC said a person who claimed to be a Political Liaison Committee (PLC) member was also at the hall. It said that person had not taken part in earlier PLC meetings.

The IEC said PLC members were reminded that the storage locations of election materials are confidential and may not be disclosed to unauthorised persons.

The IEC approved 362,878 special vote applications in KwaZulu-Natal. Of these, 211,449 are for visits to voting stations and 151,429 are for home visits. The province has 5,028 voting stations, and 4,988 of them received applications. The other 40 received none and will not open for special voting.

Key facts

Who
Electoral Commission (election body issuing the special voting update (IEC)); MK Party (party whose members were reported to have approached a voting station in Umzinto); Independent Electoral Commission (election management body; issued the KZN special voting update); uMkomaas police station (station to which the theft was reported)
What
The IEC said in its KwaZulu-Natal special voting update that empty ballot boxes and a training module were stolen from a voting station in Zambeni; replacement material was delivered and the station was operational. Several other incidents, including MK Party members approaching a voting station in Umzinto and police escort and vehicle delays, were also reported.
When
2 November 2026
Where
Zambeni, uMkomaas, Umzinto
Status
Reported

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