Two Eastern Cape women arrested for attempting to steal voting material - IOL

An alleged attempt to steal election voting material from a police station in Ngcobo has led to the arrest of two women accused of impersonating an IEC official.

Two women aged 57 and 61 have been arrested in the Eastern Cape for allegedly impersonating Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials and attempting to steal voting material from Ngcobo Police Station.

The women were arrested on Tuesday, following an incident at the police station.

It is alleged that the two women arrived at Ngcobo Police Station at about 4.30am on Monday and collected voting material.

They allegedly claimed they had been sent by the presiding officer to collect the material.

“However, the presiding officer was already present in the queue and had not sent anyone to collect the material,” Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said.

The women were identified before they could leave the station, and the voting material was confiscated.

“The two suspects have been arrested and are being processed.

Gantana said a case had been opened relating to impersonating an IEC official.

Further details will be shared in due course, she said.

Eastern Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Vuyisile Ncata said they would not tolerate any interference with the electoral process.

"The arrest of the two suspects demonstrates our commitment to upholding the integrity of the elections.

“Anyone who impersonates an IEC official will face the full might of the law,” Ncata said.

The development comes as special voting, which began on Monday, continues on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's 2026 local government elections.

A total of 2,655,067 voters have been approved for special voting.

This includes people who cannot reach voting stations because of physical infirmity or disability, as well as registered voters who will be unable to vote in their wards on election day.

Of those approved, 678,525 voters will receive home visits, while 1,976,542 will cast their ballots at their registered voting stations.

Gauteng has the highest number of approved special voters, at 480,721, followed by the Eastern Cape with 401,971 and KwaZulu-Natal with 348,971.

Meanwhile, 29,2 million registered voters are expected to participate in the local government elections on Wednesday.