[imagesource: YouTube / News24]

An altercation at the Fernwood Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp in the Eastern Cape has ended with DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille opening a case of assault against a police officer.

The 70-year-old says she was “frogmarched” out of the voting station, with the officer who did so assaulting her.

Things kicked off after ANC observers at the voting station accused Zille of canvassing for votes, which she denies.

Zille says she was merely encouraging those who had already waited a long time in the queue to stick around and vote, rather than leaving.

The footage was first shared on social media and has since been widely seen:

Police watchdog Ipid is now investigating the incident, including the internal police report.

Here’s TimesLIVE:

The internal report continues that Zille claimed an officer “instructed her to leave the premises and threatened to arrest her and put her in the back of a police vehicle”.

Zille claimed she was “frogmarched” out of the station, and has accused the officer of twisting her arm and pushing her.

“The cellphone that her colleague was using to film the incident was allegedly taken by the officer,” the report states.

Later, Zille took to Facebook to share her version of events in greater detail:

Her post ended as follows:

The delays today at the Fernwood Park Primary Voting Station were clearly deliberate, and scores of voters left without voting in this DA stronghold. The same, apparently, applies in many other places.

If elections lose their credibility in South Africa, the IEC will have much to answer for. As I experienced today at Fernwood Park Primary.

It appears likely that the DA will retain Cape Town.

Predictions for other major cities have yet to be made.

[source:timeslive]