Zimbabwe Election Body Says Teachers Will Not be Polling Officers

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission won’t be using teachers as polling officers, according to Electoral Commission chairman George Chiweshe.

He said ZEC will select agents from local authorities, the health services board and other public bodies and assign them to their own constituencies so they can cast ballots on election day.

Earlier reports suggested teachers would be assigned to constituencies other than their own, preventing them from voting. Now the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe charges that ZEC is discriminating against teachers by excluding them from officiating at polling places.

Union president Takavafira Zhou told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the union was not informed of ZEC’s decision to exclude teachers and that this suggests the commission may have something to hide.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...