Burglary Case Opened After Ballot Papers and IEC Materials Stolen at Hillcrest Voting Station
Police in KwaZulu-Natal have opened a case of burglary for investigation after voting materials belonging to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) were reportedly stolen from a voting station in Hillcrest between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
It is reported that the IEC’s Presiding Officer went to the school used as a voting station and placed sensitive material, including inks, the voter’s roll, and ballot papers, inside an unlockable guard house on Tuesday evening.
The Presiding Officer reportedly locked the school gate and left. According to information, a group of about ten people observed what the official was doing inside the guard house.
The school does not have an overnight security guard.
When the Presiding Officer arrived at the school on Wednesday morning, she noticed that the school gate was open and people were standing outside.
Upon proceeding to the guard house, she discovered that the ballot papers and other IEC materials had been stolen.
The matter was then reported to the police.
Police investigations will also endeavour to establish why ballot papers were transported to a voting station the night before the elections and without a police escort.
Part of the police’s responsibilities during the elections is to escort Presiding Officers carrying sensitive materials from warehouses to voting stations and back without fail, and the movement of sensitive material is meant to be done on the actual day of the elections.
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