HARARE – THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) must put measures in place to ensure that teachers and other civil servants who have been deployed away from their polling stations vote in Monday’s general elections, the High Court has ruled on Thursday.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union took ZEC to court after it deployed civil servants as electoral officers in areas where they are not registered to vote.
ZEC did not oppose the application granted by Justice Muzenda.
The elections body must now “take such measures and steps, which include but are not limited to, providing transport to and from the respective polling stations where each member is entitled to vote at…”
ZEC must give the affected civil servants time off so that they vote. They should also be allowed to jump queues “to enable them to promptly return to work.”
ZEC had previously said teachers would only be deployed where they are registered to vote, but thousands have been sent away from their stations.
Zimbabweans vote on July 30 in a key election whose run-up has been marked by dozens of court cases against ZEC which has accused the opposition and civil society groups of being “unreasonable” with some of their demands.
