Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says they have recorded various incidents in different voting areas, which police are investigating.
This includes the community protest action in Alexandra, in Johannesburg, which may be threatening election staff and party agents in the areas.
Briefing the media on the first day of counting, IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula says community personnel have been deployed along with political party leaders to speak to the community in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Also in Gauteng, a ballot box containing 16 special votes was found by police – along-side a road in Springs, in the East Rand.
While in Brakpan, ballot boxes. which contained counted and captures votes, that was stored in a school was broken into overnight.
Another incident was reported in Tzaneen, in Limpopo, where a voting station was ambushed by unknown assailants who had posed as voters yesterday.
According to the IEC, the assailants entered the station and attacked the police on duty, election officials and party agents, while damaging voting materials.
Tlakula says the counting at the station has not commenced.
Police have arrested two people and investigations are counting.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Kwadukuza, one person was killed and another shot in KwaMashu.
The IEC says police are investigating all the incidents.
“These remain isolated incidents which we are taking extremely seriously," said Tlakula.
The chairperson defused suggestions that these incidents discredited the electoral process and IEC.
“I wouldn’t speculate that people are out to discredit us - but police investigations will reveal this,” she said, adding that the irregularities happened in few stations.
“Our credibility has not been compromised.”
According to Chief Electoral Officer Mosotho Moepya, they have done well in the so called hotspots and that counting has been done and capturing is underway. – SAnews.gov.za
