Johannesburg, May 26 (IANS): A total of 27 people have been arrested in South Africa in the past week for various election-related crimes, a senior police official said on Sunday.

For the period from May 19 to May 25, 27 additional cases have been registered and are under investigation, with 17 of the cases reported in Limpopo Province, said Tebello Mosikili, deputy national commissioner of the South African Police Service, while briefing the media in Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, about the police's preparedness for the upcoming elections, Xinhua news agency reported.

The suspects were arrested for contravening the electoral act, attempted murder, vandalism and illegal removal of posters. The police are continuing tracing operations, roadblocks, stop-and-searches and patrols, said Mosikili. "We take this opportunity to call for political tolerance among voters and members of various parties."

"We are now entering the second phase of our 2024 national and provincial elections operational plan. We therefore take this opportunity to caution responsible citizens, especially social media users, from spreading fake news. You are all urged to verify facts first before sharing any information, which often leads to unnecessary confusion and panic," she said.

Mosikili warned that they will arrest those inciting violence on social media platforms, as the intelligence communities and cybercrime units are closely monitoring online users.

South Africa is scheduled to hold national and local government elections on May 29.