The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster says it stands ready to deal with any threats of instability ahead of the declaration of the election results in Midrand this evening.

‘As the Security Cluster, we assure South Africans that law enforcement agencies stand ready to maintain peace and stability, as they have done throughout the election period.

‘Any attempt to undermine the authority of the State and South Africa’s constitutional order will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly,’ Cele assured citizens on Sunday.

The Minister outlined measures taken by law enforcement agencies to maintain peace and stability during the election process.

As the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) prepares to announce the election results, Cele stated that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has confirmed its readiness to ensure a peaceful environment following the election results declaration.

‘We would like to assure the country that the Constitu
tion provides the mandate to manage the elections to the IEC. Therefore, the decision to declare the results rests solely with the IEC, in accordance with the law.’

In addition, the Minister said the law provides mechanisms to raise disputes with the electoral processes and only those prescribed processes must be followed.

‘As such, there cannot be any room for threats of instability to register objections or concerns about the electoral process.’

READ | IEC receives 579 objections

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise emphasised respect for the Constitution and each other’s rights.

She told journalists that while they have not singled out any party for engagement ahead of the release of the results, they have reiterated their calls for the respect for the rule of law.

‘We have, before the elections, called for calm. We have also asked people not to do that which is not legal in this country. We had also indicated that we would not tolerate anybody breaching or tarnishing the name of Sout
h Africa thus far because we have always behaved according to our Constitution in the past elections.’

Modise appealed to all parties and citizens to respect the rights of others.

‘We are hoping that our plea to all parties involved will be heard by everybody involved… We do not think that we want to have a conversation across or with one individual party. We are appealing to South Africans to respect the laws of South Africa,’ the Defence Minister pleaded.

Modise said her department had learnt lessons from the unrest in July 2021.

‘There were some issues [during the July 2021 unrest]. We arrived a little bit late as the Defence Department. I can assure you that that was a good lesson. We are not late these days. We get there on time, when needed. We are prepared. We don’t have to have help from somewhere else to get to where we are going. We have said that we will not tolerate anybody interfering with the rights of the rest of the citizens,’ Modise said.

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni,
emphasised that nobody was exempt from the law.

‘… Anybody who threatens the security or the stability of the country, anybody who wants to undermine the constitutional order of the country, irrespective of who they are… the law enforcement will have to deal with them.’

According to Ntshavheni, all political parties signed a code of conduct that prescribes how they must conduct themselves.

‘… The violation of the code of conduct will then be enforced because that’s what all political parties agreed to before we entered this phase of the elections.’

Source: South African Government News Agency