Eastern Cape votes as police fan out across every district

Voting is under way across the Eastern Cape, with police deployed in every district to secure voting stations and the areas around them.

In a statement on Monday, the South African Police Service said its Eastern Cape members had confirmed their state of readiness as the provincial local government elections got under way. Police said they are working with the Independent Electoral Commission and other stakeholders to keep the electoral environment safe and peaceful.

Lieutenant General Nkhoua, from the national head office, visited the Results Operations Centre at the International Convention Centre in East London as part of a management visit to assess operational readiness. The police said the visit formed part of oversight efforts to ensure the human resource capacity and operational arrangements were in place for policing through the electoral process.

The service did not say how many members had been deployed, which districts were carrying the heaviest load, or whether any incidents had been reported at voting stations by the time it posted.