Pretoria - The Electoral Commission has embarked on contingency plans as it readies itself for any adverse weather and natural disaster on election day.
The Commission's Deputy CEO of Electoral Operations Masego Sheburi on Thursday said the organisation had already put in place systems and was working alongside provincial disaster management teams, particularly in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape regions, to rebuild bridges and other infrastructure that will enable locals to access voting stations next week.
Last month, torrential rains wreaked havoc in the KZN with flooding and mudslides resulting in the deaths of up to 70 people who in KZN.
In the Eastern region of the country, up to 11 people are said to have perished.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has already declared seven days of national mourning for those killed.
The IEC also said it has sourced alternative power supply in the event of possible outages as people head to the polls and the National Results Operation Centre in Pretoria tallies up the results.
Sheburi, however, said power utility Eskom, had also indicated that it would do its best to avoid any load-shedding.
The parastatal last month said it had a plan for the winter season and that it would halt load-shedding but experts have warned that the risk and possibility still remain high.
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