King William’s Town – More than 10 000 police will be deployed throughout the Eastern Cape to ensure that the election process takes place peacefully, says the provincial SAPS.
Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Eastern Cape, Lieutenant General Celiwe Binta assured the public that their members will ensure peaceful elections at the 4 615 polling stations in the province.
“I would like to assure members of the public that they will be safe when going to the polling stations. We have completed our operational plan months ahead of time and are ready to deploy police members from 3 May 2014. All hot spots will also be very closely monitored and additional forces placed on standby in those areas.
“We have ensured that additional manpower and reserve forces are available to deal with any contingency or crisis that might require our intervention.
“We request members of the public not to take weapons of any kind to polling stations and urge them to adhere to the instructions of the presiding officers at all times.
“I would like to emphasise that we will not tolerate any form of criminality, intimidation, disruptive behaviour and drunkenness at the polling stations,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
