Law infringes on public officers� constitutional rights � Union

South Africa-based Advocate Alec Freund, who is representing NALCGPU who are the respondents in a case in which government is appealing Justice Modiri Letsididi’s judgement that the PSA does not prohibit public officers from participating in primary elections, says the provision of Section 5(5)(b) does not pass constitutional muster as it strips a major portion of all employed Batswana of their right to participate in a key aspect of Botswana’s democracy, as government is the largest employer in the country.

The ongoing case has seen the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) indefinitely postponing its primary elections.