The theft of ballot papers in KwaZulu-Natal, the removal of an armed voter from a Cape Town voting station and arrests following clashes with police were among incidents reported during yesterday's local government elections.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) said voting was proceeding well nationally, with 98% of the country's 23,696 voting stations open by 7am, despite delays caused by protests and heavy rain.

In eThekwini, the IEC confirmed that unused ballot papers and an official stamp had been stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Botha's Hill. The theft was discovered on Wednesday morning and reported to police.

KwaZulu-Natal police said a presiding officer had left sensitive election materials, including ballot papers, ink and a voters' roll, inside a guardhouse at the voting station on Tuesday evening.

When she returned on Wednesday morning, she discovered the materials missing.

Police opened a burglary case and said investigators would establish why the materials were delivered the previous evening without a police escort. The IEC said precautions had been taken to prevent the stolen ballots from being unlawfully used.

In Mitchells Plain, Western Cape provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse confirmed that police had removed a disruptive voter who was armed.

“A voter arrived in Mitchells Plain and for some reason he got upset and he was disruptive, in which case we had to ask (police) to assist us to remove that particular voter because he was armed at this stage,” Hendrickse said.

In nearby Hanover Park, four suspects, including two minors, were arrested after police came under attack near the civic centre voting station.

Source: https://iol.co.za/the-star/news/2026-11-05-stolen-ballots-armed-voter-and-arrests-mark-election-day/