A female IEC official was allegedly stabbed by a male colleague at a voting station on Monday.

• In North West, voting was disrupted when an IEC official allegedly stabbed a female colleague.
• Police said they were aware of the incident, but the victim had not laid a complaint.
• In another incident, a party agent allegedly attempted to influence voters in Bedwang in Moretele.
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Voting in the North West was disrupted at a voting station in Itsoseng, Potchefstroom, when an Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) official allegedly assaulted and stabbed a female colleague.

A witness, who asked not to be named for fear of being victimised, told News24 the details about what led to the altercation were unclear, but said voters were shocked when the official stood up, at around 17:00, and allegedly assaulted his female colleague.

“Everything happened so fast and, before we knew it, he had stabbed her in the head,” the witness said.

According to the witness, voting was halted as officials tried to calm the situation and get medical help for the injured official.

Another witness, who also spoke on condition that they remain anonymous, alleged the official had accused the woman of speaking to him in a demeaning tone earlier in the day.

“Things continued to be hostile between the two of them throughout the day, and he just exploded. We are not sure what triggered him, but he changed suddenly,” the witness said.

North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said police were aware of the incident, but they were not investigating.

“The victim chose not to open a case, so there is no case or investigation into the matter,” Mokgwabone said.

READ MORE | Election day turmoil: From ballot selfies to assault on officers

Ledimo Nthejane, the provincial manager at the IEC, told News24 the commission was aware of the incident involving two staff members, but could not comment as it was now “a police matter”.

He said the safety of their staff and voters was a priority. 

In a separate case, Mokgwabone said police in Bedwang, outside Makapanstad, in Moretele, were investigating a case of a contravention of Section 87(1) of the Electoral Act after a party agent allegedly “attempted to induce or influence persons to vote for a particular party”.

In Wolmaransstad, Mokgwabone said a case was opened after a presiding officer allegedly allowed a person, who did not appear on the voters’ roll, to vote. He said the case was still under investigation, and no arrest had been made.

Nthejane said the commission was aware of the issues, and also emphasised its commitment to training and reminding staff of electoral regulations.

“In addition to the training provided, we also consistently remind staff, through our WhatsApp groups, of things they should always remember, and this one – that a name must appear on a voters’ roll – is always at the top of our reminders. We will launch our investigation to get to the bottom of what happened,” Nthejane  said.