Northern Cape votes under police guard as SAPS deploys across all five districts

Voting in the Northern Cape is taking place with police stationed at voting stations across all five of the province’s policing districts, the South African Police Service said on Wednesday as the 2026 local government elections got underway.

SAPS said its members had been deployed at identified voting stations and strategic areas throughout the province to monitor the process, conduct patrols, respond to incidents and prevent intimidation, violence, disruption or criminality that could threaten the integrity of the vote.

Before deployment, the district commissioners of Frances Baard, Pixley Ka-Seme, ZFM, Namakwa and JTG held parades with their members, where operational instructions and marching orders were issued. SAPS said the parades confirmed the operational readiness, discipline and commitment of its members to maintain law and order and to protect voters, Electoral Commission of South Africa personnel and election material, as well as voting stations and the areas around them.

The provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, who chairs the Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, said SAPS was working with other law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to ensure every eligible voter could exercise their democratic right without fear, intimidation or undue interference.

SAPS said a zero-tolerance approach would be taken to election-related offences, with law enforcement agencies ready to act against anyone who attempts to disrupt the electoral process or undermine the democratic rights of others.

The province’s police said they would keep monitoring developments and provide updates on any significant incidents.