KZN to bring together political parties, IEC for election peace talks
Political parties in KwaZulu-Natal will meet for a peace summit this month aimed at promoting tolerance and stability ahead of the Local Government Elections on November 4.
Premier Thami Ntuli says the summit will bring together political parties contesting the elections and the Electoral Commission (IEC) to help ensure peaceful, free and fair elections.
The initiative comes amid reports of intimidation and deadly attacks targeting councillor candidates.
However, it has yet to be confirmed whether the attacks were politically motivated.
Hundreds of political parties will be vying for seats in councils across South Africa, when voters cast their ballots in November.
Premier Ntuli says they want political parties and their volunteers to commit to ensuring peace and security in the province during this campaign period.
“People will be campaigning and so it’s important that we engage on the expectations so that there will be no confrontation that will result in conflicts and instability that is unnecessary.
Democracy has to be allowed to take its course, and so it will be to also advice political party volunteers that as they it’s important that they refrain from unnecessary confrontation, unnecessary attacks, verbally or otherwise, so that we only engage citizens to make a choice,” says Ntuli.
RELATED VIDEO | KZN political attacks spark concern The plan for the parties to meet under one roof before election day comes as worrying signs are already emerging.
Parties have reported killings and intimidation as they gear up for November 4.
In recent cases this week, two IFP councillor candidates were gunned down in separate incidents.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and African National Congress (ANC) have also had members killed.
However, none of the attacks have been linked to politics.
To help curb the killings, Ntuli, who also chairs the IFP in the province, has urged communities to provide the police with information that could lead to arrests.
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