The police have followed up on various video clips and messages of ‘double voting’ posted on social media and have arrested 20 suspects in KZN and Gauteng.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo confirmed on Thursday, 9 May 2019, that 20 people have been arrested after allegedly trying to vote more than once during the 2019 national and provincial elections. Naidoo said 19 suspects were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), of which 16 were alleged to have gone astray at the voting process in Danhauser.
Naidoo confirmed that two more suspects were arrested in Hluhluwe and one in Port Shepstone, while another suspect was arrested in Douglasdale in Gauteng. She said that all suspects would be appearing in various courts in the KZN and Gauteng provinces.
“These suspects are alleged to have contravened Section 88 (d) of the Electoral Act 73/1998 whereby a person tries to cast more votes than a person is entitled to.
“These arrests are indicative that the security features employed by the Electoral Commission to prevent ‘double voting’ from taking place has been effective.
“The four layers of security are effectively implemented to protect the integrity of the election process,” Naidoo said.
Meanwhile, police confirmed that Vuwani protest leader Arnold Mulaudzi appeared in the Vuwani Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 9 May 2019, after he was arrested on Tuesday night, 7 May 2019, on charges of contravening the Electoral Act. He was granted R5 000 bail and is expected to appear in court on Monday, 3 June 2019, as the case has been postponed to allow for further investigation.
Naidoo said the police had “decisively” dealt with various video clips and messages posted on social media. The IEC said it would also conduct an audit of results and votes cast in a sample of voting stations to ascertain if double voting had occurred in the national elections.
Abenathi Gqomo
