More than 20 people were arrested in Gauteng alone for “unlawfulness” during Wednesday’s national and provincial elections.
About 26 million people who were eligible to vote were expected to take to the voting stations to cast their vote.
However, early glitches at polling stations resulted in frustrated voters who resorted to desperate and volatile measures.
The Star previously reported that at one of the voting stations in Thokoza in the Ekurhuleni’s Fire Station voting district, chaos ensued after voters stood in long queues for lengthy periods.
Provincial Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni on Wednesday confirmed that about 20 people had been arrested for election-related offences.
He said among those arrested were voters who took pictures in the voting booth when making their crosses, while others acted disorderly at voting stations.
There were also reports of police firing rubber bullets in Katlehong after voters attempted to force themselves into a voting station, resulting in the injury of a voter.
Mthombeni told a radio station: “The community in the surroundings of the voting station, some of the people, I would say, had pitched a tent.
“The tents were a hundred metres away from the voting station, and some of them were playing high volume music. Then, some of them had a confrontation with each other.
“The police had to come in and restore order…,” Mthombeni said.
"You’ll find that people become excited and they take pictures of the ballot which is not allowed. Others you find had squabbles in the voting lines and ultimately one opens a case against the other,” Mthombethi said.
The Star