Ballot boxes stolen as special votes begin in KZN - IOL

The IEC in KwaZulu-Natal says no ballot papers were stolen during the break-in at Amahlongwa Community Hall. From left: IEC KZN provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga, IEC national strategic stakeholder liaison officer Mawethu Mosery and IEC KZN provincial communications officer Thabani Ngwira.

A break-in at a voting station in KwaZulu-Natal, where ballot boxes and electoral stationery were stolen, did not disrupt special voting because no ballot papers were taken, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said yesterday.

The incident at Amahlongwa Community Hall in the Umdoni Municipality was among several operational challenges reported on the first day of special voting, including a dispute with party agents, late SAPS escorts and weather-related delays.

The updates come as the majority of South Africa prepares to vote in the 2026 local government elections tomorrow. 

IEC KZN provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga reported that they learned of the theft in the Umdoni Municipality yesterday morning. She said they keep bulk material (ballot boxes, ballot booths, signage) at voting stations overnight, while the only material escorted by SAPS is sensitive and security materials. 

She said that there was a break-in at Amahlongwa Community Hall where ballot boxes and some of the electoral stationery were stolen.

“A case has been opened with Umkomaas police station, and the matter is under investigation,” Masinga said.  

She said the incident did not impact voting or home visits, as extra ballot boxes are always provided.

Masinga insisted that with investigations underway, they will know how the perpetrators were able to access the material when there is a guard at the voting station.

IEC national strategic stakeholder liaison officer Mawethu Mosery emphasised that what was stolen were ballot boxes, not ballot papers. They were at the voting station because they are non-security items and can easily be replaced. 

“What we secure is the stamp for the ballot paper, which must go under security as well as the ballot paper,” Mosery said. 

“There are no ballot papers stolen out there. They are in our secure storage.”

Masinga said that in another incident, there was an issue at Umzinto Town Hall, also in Umdoni Municipality, where party agents demanded they reveal their storage facilities and where they keep their materials. 

“We made it clear that that exercise and our logistics plan is not for public consumption. That’s for our purposes only as the Electoral Commission. The members of the public have no interest in where we store materials,” Masinga said, adding that SAPS and the party liaison committee resolved the matter, ensuring voting was not disrupted.

She also expressed sadness over a deputy presiding officer who was hospitalised after being hit by a vehicle while on her way to a voting station in Bergville. 

Masinga explained that all their voting stations were open in the province. There are a total of 5 028 voting stations, and only 40 did not have any special votes. Voting stations are open from 8am to 5pm.

She highlighted that a handful of voting stations in eThekwini did not open at 8am because of SAPS’ late arrival in escorting IEC staff to voting stations. 

Masinga said there was an incident in Lamontville where a landlord had issues in the morning. However, through training SAPS, where they have a signed lease agreement in place, the voting station has to open. She said they managed to get the SAPS to open the voting station. 

She said a total of 362 878 special vote applications were approved in the province, and 58% of them were voting station visits. The rest were home visits. 

Masinga reported that they were worried about temporary voting station infrastructure because some could not be erected on Sunday night due to weather conditions; therefore, they were erected yesterday (Monday) morning. 

“That caused a slight delay in some of our voting stations. But by 9.30am today (yesterday), all our voting stations where we have tents, the tents had been pitched up, and the process had started,” Masinga said. 

“We are hopeful that the weather will behave because we will now keep those facilities intact until election day.”

Regarding the weather, she said it is predicted that there are between 60% and 80% chances of rain throughout the province, even today (Tuesday). The weather only clears on election day. 

Masinga added that 148 voting stations use tents, and arrangements have been made with tent service providers to remain on standby to re-erect any tents if necessary.