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IEC warns KZN parties not to harass voters outside stations

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in KwaZulu-Natal said unruly behaviour at party tables and tents will not be tolerated, and police will act. The province has 165 voting stations that police identified as high risk, the most of any province.

IEC KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombfuthi Masinga cautioned parties that camp outside voting stations. She said the tables and tents are not official IEC tables. She said parties use them to track who has voted, so they can persuade registered voters who have not yet voted.

Masinga said the tables are not a place for drinking. In her words: "Those are also not tables for people to get drinks and be drunk and start harassing voters before they get into voting stations." She said that if it happens again, the South African Police Service will deal with it.

Reports also gave 331 as the number of high-risk voting stations that police identified nationally. They said 2.6m voters are set to cast special ballots.

Key facts

Who
Ntombfuthi Masinga (KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer, IEC); Independent Electoral Commission (electoral body running the local government elections); South African Police Service (police service that will work with the IEC and handle unruly behaviour); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election management body, referred to as the IEC)
What
The IEC's KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer, Ntombfuthi Masinga, cautioned parties camping outside voting stations against harassing voters and said unruly behaviour will not be tolerated; police will act if it happens. KZN has 165 voting stations identified as high risk, the most of any province.
When
2 November 2026
Where
KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini, Lamontville
Status
Reported

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