# The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime says political assassinations, if left unchecked, will narrow democratic choice, corrode local government, and allow criminal governance to decide who can hold power. Forty-two people have been murdered in suspected political assassinations in South Africa this year, ahead of the local government elections. Most political killings have taken place in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. According to the organisation, this year’s killings have followed key election mobilisation points, branch meetings, candidate selection and voter registration drives.
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime records a surge in political assassinations in SA