Observers for political rallies

South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is considering expanding a mediation panel and deploying observers to political rallies in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, ahead of general elections in April. IEC chairwoman Brigalia Bam told IRIN on Tuesday that they were concerned with level of political violence in province. "We have the mediation panel set up to defuse pre-election political tension in KwaZulu-Natal - the panel currently is made up of 20 members ... we think the number should be increased," she said. The panel consists of lawyers and religious leaders. Mounting tension has been reported in the province, which is jointly run by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). An ANC activist was killed last Friday in the Edanganya rural area in the Umkhomazi district south of the port city of Durban. The ANC claimed that their activist had been killed by alleged IFP members. KwaZulu-Natal was the scene of bitter feuding between the two parties in the 1980s and early '90s that left thousands of people dead. Last month there were reports of political clashes near the coastal town of Port Shepstone, where three people were injured in an IFP march. Bam said she was also considering the introduction of observers at KwaZulu-Natal political rallies as another preventative measure. "It is an international practice - now we are considering introducing it in South Africa." The IEC is also drawing up a safety plan in cooperation with the police, and holding regular briefings with the political parties in the province as a contingency measure.