NATJOINTS: 21 Criminal Cases Opened During Special Voting, 6 Arrested Ahead of LGE

• NATJOINTS confirmed 21 criminal case dockets were recorded over two days of special voting before South Africa's local government elections
• The cases ranged from murder and arson to the theft and defacing of election material, with six suspects taken into custody
• Two of those arrested allegedly posed as IEC officials in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, raising concerns about electoral integrity

SOUTH AFRICA — South Africa's National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) confirmed that law enforcement registered 21 criminal dockets during the two-day special voting period ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, NATJOINTS co-chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili detailed the country's security environment. Mosikili stated that the reported offences included murder, arson, intimidation, theft of tents and banners, and the destruction of official election material. She noted that courts had already received five of these dockets.

6 Arrested in multiple provinces

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Police arrested six individuals across multiple provinces. In Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, officers detained two suspects for pretending to be Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials. In Mpumalanga, police arrested one individual in Mmametlhake for destroying election materials and another in Pienaar on charges of malicious damage to property. Authorities in Christiana, North West, apprehended a fifth suspect for photographing a ballot paper.

Mosikili highlighted the fatal shooting of a uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party regional leader in KwaZulu-Natal, confirming that the Political Killings Task Team is supporting the investigation. NATJOINTS instructed all political organizations and voters to maintain order during the voting process.

Official campaigning concluded at midnight on 3 November. NATJOINTS emphasized that law enforcement will strictly enforce Section 76 of the Municipal Electoral Act, which prohibits political campaigning and demonstrations on election day. More than 29 million registered citizens were cleared to vote across 23,696 polling stations nationwide, operating from 07:00 to 21:00.

View SAPS' tweet on the briefing:

IEC officer dies after collapsing

In a related article, Briefly News reported on the first day of special voting for South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections, including the death of an IEC presiding officer in Mahikeng and a second official’s hospitalisation after a car accident.

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Despite the incidents, 94% of voting stations opened on time, while delays affected 10 wards in Cape Town. Special voting continued on Tuesday ahead of the main election day on Wednesday, 4 November.

Source: Briefly News