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Newsbrief

Ntuli says KwaZulu-Natal is ready for peaceful local elections

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

Empty school hall with plain wooden voting booths in neat rows under high windows.

Premier Thami Ntuli said in Ulundi that police and the army are deployed to protect people and property during this week's local government elections. KwaZulu-Natal has 165 high-risk voting stations, the most of any province.

Ntuli said he is confident the elections will take place without incident. He said police are deployed and will be ready. He added that the army is deployed to complement the work of police.

Gauteng has 119 high-risk voting stations. In KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini has 124 of them. uThukela has 16, Amajuba has 13, Zululand has 11 and Ugu has one.

Ntuli said: "At a government level, we have done everything to ensure that we safeguard the days of the elections."

Key facts

Who
Thami Ntuli (KwaZulu-Natal Premier)
What
Ntuli, speaking in Ulundi, said he is confident the elections will take place without incident, citing police and army deployment. The article also gives the number of high-risk voting stations by province and district in KwaZulu-Natal.
When
2 November 2026
Where
KwaZulu-Natal, Ulundi, eThekwini
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

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