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Postal voting for Zimbabwe’s election faces opposition scrutiny

Police officers and soldiers who are scheduled to work on the day of Zimbabwe’s election on August 23 have started
casting their postal votes on Tuesday.

However, the main opposition party, the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC), led by Nelson Chamisa, has accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of denying their agents and observers the chance to monitor the voting process.

The CCC spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, claimed that the police officers were being coerced to vote for the ruling party, Zanu PF, under the supervision of their superiors. She also said that no agents or observers were allowed to witness the postal voting. “Where is the transparency?” she asked.

The ZEC deputy chairperson, Rodney Simukai Kiwa, defended the postal voting, saying that it was not subject to monitoring.

ZEC has announced that it will deploy about 150 000 electoral officers to the 12 370 polling stations across the country for the harmonised elections next Wednesday.

The elections will determine the next President, members of the House of Assembly and councillors in line with the Constitution. The Treasury has also approved payment of foreign currency allowances to the electoral officers, who are mostly civil servants.

Just under 18,000 people have cleared to take part in the postal voting process ahead of the August 23 elections.