THE Independent Electoral Commission was forced to quarantine four full ballot boxes in Ermelo on Tuesday after their seals were broken. Seals on three of the boxes from different polling stations were apparently simply not closed, while the seal on a fourth box appears to have been broken by accident while being transported. All four boxes were used for voting on Monday. Freedom Front provincial leader, Hein Mentz, reported the irregularity and lodged a formal complaint with the IEC. The IEC has quarantined all four ballot boxes and will convene representative party agents from all registered political parties in the province at a mediation session in Ermelo at 10am on Wednesday. IEC provincial electoral officer, Steve Ngwenya, said the IEC will attempt to convince the parties to allow the votes to be counted.