South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections have come under fresh security scrutiny after police investigated the theft of sensitive election materials from a voting station in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, as vote counting continues across the country.

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has called for stronger coordination between law enforcement agencies and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) following the incident.

The stolen materials reportedly included unmarked ballot papers, voters' rolls and election-related supplies taken from Mnyameni Secondary School in the Hillcrest area. Police said the materials had been left inside an unsecured guard house overnight.

The IEC confirmed that measures were introduced to identify the stolen ballots if anyone attempted to reintroduce them into the electoral process. The commission also removed the affected election staff from their duties while investigations continued.

Police are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident, including why sensitive election materials were reportedly stored at the voting station without an overnight security guard or police escort.

The incident has raised questions about election-material transportation, storage procedures and the protection of voting infrastructure.

With vote counting underway and political parties awaiting municipal results, authorities face growing pressure to ensure transparency, accountability and public confidence in the electoral process.

Police have indicated that security deployments will remain in place while the counting process continues and the country awaits the final election results.