Unmarked ballot papers stolen in eThekwini as vote counting gets in motion
A security stamp and unmarked ballots were stolen from a voting station outside the city on Tuesday night.
Karinda Jagmohan
Picture: Emmanuel Croset/AFP
Emmanuel Croset/AFP
With vote counting in full swing this morning, the eThekwini tally needs greater precision this year.
A security stamp and unmarked ballots were stolen from a voting station outside the city on Tuesday night.
A new security stamp was issued for Wednesday.
The IEC's presiding officer at the Mnyameni Secondary School allegedly left sensitive material, including the voters' roll, in a guard house without a lock.
Police said there was no overnight guard.
On Wednesday, the officer arrived to find an open school gate and no documents in the guard house.
The IEC's Ntombifuthi Masinga confirmed the officer was removed from the post while police investigate.
They issued new stamp codes yesterday morning, urging staff and officials to be wary of the old stamp.
"What will be different in eThekwini is that we will not only be checking if the ballot is stamped, we are also checking if the stamp that was used is the authentic stamp.
At least 20 voting stations were directly impacted in the western region.