Special votes open in North West as police say province is ready for election day

Special voting opened in the North West on Monday, and the provincial structure coordinating security for the local government elections used the occasion to declare the province operationally ready.

The Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, known as PROVJOINTS, said months of integrated planning and three recent simulation exercises had tested the readiness of everyone involved. The simulations were run to check how role players would respond in an emergency and to make sure the response would be coordinated.

Special voting is the first practical test of those arrangements. PROVJOINTS said its start confirmed that the security and operational measures needed for a safe and peaceful electoral process are in place across the province.

The structure brings together the South African Police Service, the Independent Electoral Commission and other government departments and stakeholders. It said information sharing and coordination among intelligence structures, the police and the IEC would continue throughout the electoral period, and that readiness would be assessed continuously, with any gaps closed as they are identified.

Lieutenant General AP Adams, who chairs PROVJOINTS, said the state of readiness came from planning and commitment across the departments represented in the structure. Every voter, he said, must be able to exercise a constitutional right in a safe and secure environment free of intimidation, violence or interference.

Adams said police would keep a visible and proactive presence for the duration of the electoral period and that attempts by individuals or groups to undermine the democratic process would not be tolerated.

He also put part of the responsibility outside law enforcement. Peaceful elections, he said, cannot be achieved by law enforcement agencies alone and depend on the cooperation of political parties, communities and other stakeholders.

The elections, PROVJOINTS said, are a collective responsibility to give every eligible South African the chance to vote freely, safely and without fear, intimidation or interference.