KZN REPORTS NO ELECTION VIOLENCE
There were no reports of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal on election day, provincial safety MEC Bheki Cele said on Thursday.
"I have not received even a single report of political motivated incidents of violence," said Cele.
"I would like to thank all the guys for the excellent job they have done. They managed to ensure that there were no tensions in all the hot spots."
Nongoma, Estcourt, Ulundi, KwaDukuza, Greytown, Umsinga and hostels were identified as hot spots by security cluster ministers who spent six weeks assessing South Africa's state of readiness for the elections.
In Nongoma, 270 police officers were deployed while another 200 were deployed in Ulundi a few weeks before the elections.
Members of the national intervention police unit and the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed in Nongoma after the eruption of tensions between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the ruling African National Congress in January.
Sixty people were arrested in election-related matters and 25 illegal firearms were seized including three AK-47s in the weeks before the election.
In the run-up to South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, tens of thousands of people were killed in political clashes in KwaZulu-Natal.
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23 Avril 2009 à 11:11 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
