Durban - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and government are implementing measures in KwaZulu-Natal’s possible violence hot spots to ensure peaceful elections.
Three people were killed in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend, although the motives behind the incidents are unknown.
IEC provincial head Mawethu Mosery said the IEC was noting the recent attacks in Imbali, Pietermaritzburg which according to police claimed the lives of three people between the ages of 35 and 49.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane could not divulge the names of the deceased.
However, Independent Media has established that ANC activists Audrey Gwala and Nhlanhla Zibula were among the victims.
“We do not foresee serious political instability in the province at all, although there may be pockets of tension and conflict. We will deal with those as they arise,” said Mosery.
He said in anticipation of violence during the elections season, the IEC and provincial government had revived a multiparty political intervention committee, which he co-chairs with Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda.
The committee was established by former premier Zweli Mkhize ahead of the 2011 elections.
Mosery said a team of 15 mediators were ready to intervene wherever there was political tension.
“Some of them are church leaders, some of them are legal experts and social scientists who have done political work in the past,” he said.
Mosery said political parties in the province would sign an election code of conduct on March 19, and it would be signed nationally on March 20.
ANC provincial spokesperson Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said it would be premature to conclude that the murders in Imbali were politically motivated.
“We have not had violence because of the elections in a while in the province,” said Simelane-Zulu.
She said the ANC was confident that the elections would be peaceful in KZN.