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Parties guard ballot boxes outside Acornhoek storage facility

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Ongoing: Elections Hot

Empty warehouse with closed roller shutter doors across a dusty yard under a clear sky.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that some parties contesting the Bushbuckridge election are guarding outside the Acornhoek facility. The parties fear that ballot boxes might be tampered with, and the IEC says they may guard if they stay away from the warehouse.

Fhumalini Thovhagale, the IEC Municipal Electoral Officer in Bushbuckridge, said the parties raised concerns about trust in the process. She said they told the IEC they wanted to guard the ballots.

Thovhagale said parties may guard outside the storage facilities. They must stay out of the warehouse area where the ballots are kept.

The parties claim that ballot boxes might be tampered with at the storage facilities. The IEC did not confirm any tampering.

Key facts

Who
Fhumalini Thovhagale (IEC Municipal Electoral Officer in Bushbuckridge); Independent Electoral Commission (electoral body confirming party guarding at ballot storage facility in…)
What
Political parties contesting in the Bushbuckridge Municipality raised concerns that ballot boxes might be tampered with, and are guarding outside the storage facilities; the IEC municipal electoral officer says parties may guard as long as they stay out of the warehouse area where ballots are kept.
When
4 November 2026
Where
Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, Acornhoek
Status
Reported

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