Ballot papers stolen as police probe election security breach in KZN

Police are investigating the theft of ballot papers and other sensitive election materials from a voting station in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), while also probing why the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voting materials were allegedly transported and left overnight without the mandatory police escort ahead of the elections.

The theft of ballot papers, hours before polls opened, has triggered a criminal investigation and raised serious questions about whether established election security procedures were followed.

Theft

KZN police have opened a burglary case after ballot papers, voter rolls and voting ink belonging to the IEC were allegedly stolen from a voting station in Hillcrest.

According to KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, an IEC presiding officer reportedly took sensitive election material to a school being used as a voting station on Tuesday evening and stored it inside a guard house before locking the school gate and leaving.

Witnesses

It is understood that a group of about 10 people witnessed the materials being placed inside the structure, while the school reportedly had no security guard on duty overnight.

When the presiding officer returned on Wednesday morning, she allegedly found the gate open and discovered that ballot papers and other election materials had been stolen.

“Police in KwaZulu-Natal have opened a case of burglary for investigation after voting materials belonging to the IEC were reportedly stolen from a voting station in Hillcrest between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning,” said Netshiunda.

Scrutiny

The incident has also placed the movement and storage of the election materials under scrutiny.

“Police investigations will also endeavour to establish why ballot papers were transported to a voting station a night before the elections, and without police escort,” Netshiunda said.

Investigation

He emphasised that strict security measures are ordinarily followed when transporting election material.

“Part of the police’s responsibilities during the elections is to escort presiding officers with sensitive materials from warehouses to voting stations and back without fail, and the movement of sensitive material is done on the day of the elections.”

Police are now investigating both the burglary and whether election protocols were breached, with no arrests made at this stage.