On May 29, the former president might not be allowed to compete in the most competitive polls in post-apartheid history.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa will rule on an appeal that calls into doubt former President Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to compete in this month’s election, which could swing the balance of power in the legislature and choose the nation’s next leader.
The country’s election commission filed an appeal, and a lower court decided that Zuma may run for president. The Johannesburg court is hearing the appeal this Friday.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had earlier prohibited Zuma from running in the elections scheduled for May 29.
The 82-year-old Zuma is the leader of a brand-new opposition group that could cause havoc in the 2019 election.
Although it is unlikely that his party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), would garner enough votes to oust the outgoing president, it may reduce the share of votes held by the main governing African National Congress (ANC) party and therefore influence the election of the nation’s next leader.
According to the South African constitution, parliamentarians choose the president.
The IEC had contended that the lawmaker with a history of corruption ought to be disqualified from the contest because to a 2021 contempt of court sentence.
Violence-related threat
The eligibility issue against Zuma centers on how to interpret a constitutional provision that prevents members of parliament from holding office after receiving a sentence of more than twelve months in prison.
Five years after the punishment is served, the ban expires.
The IEC maintained that Zuma is covered by the clause. However, Zuma’s attorneys argued that since his sentence was reduced, it did not apply to the former leader.
The Constitutional Court will now have to make a decision on the matter, which experts predict might take several days.
The highest court is the same one that sentenced Zuma to 15 months in jail in 2021 for refusing to appear before a panel looking into cronyism and financial wrongdoing during his administration. The chief justice of the court is now the head of that panel.
Zuma’s attorneys contended in their filings that he and the other five justices who served on the bench and found their client guilty need to step down because they were “tainted by bias.”
The court wouldn’t have enough members to hear the case if that were to occur.
With just a few weeks to go before what is anticipated to be the most competitive election since democracy began in 1994, the case has alarmed some observers.
After Zuma was imprisoned in 2021, there were riots, looting, and other disturbances that resulted in over 350 fatalities.
However, there are worries that the violence may recur, since the former leader’s followers claim the court is biased.
Zingabe’s followers have once again vowed to use violence if things do not go their way, according to Zakhele Ndlovu, a KwaZulu-Natal University politics lecturer, who spoke with the AFP news agency.
In addition to the disqualification case, Zuma’s MK party is being investigated by the police for allegedly forging signatures of supporters in order to register for the next national elections.
Critical Zuma Election Case Heard by South Africa’s High Court
A politically fraught legal battle that is expected to heighten tensions ahead of the closest election in decades was taking place on Friday as South Africa’s top court heard an application to declare former president Jacob Zuma unfit to run for government.
82-year-old Zuma is leading uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a brand-new opposition party that could cause trouble in the general election scheduled for May 29.
However, election authorities contend that the politician tainted by graft ought to be disqualified from the contest because to a 2021 conviction for contempt of court.
A lower court concurred with Zuma in April, therefore the Johannesburg Constitutional Court was asked to rule on the case.
Only a few weeks out from what is anticipated to be the most competitive election since democracy’s inception in 1994,
After Zuma was imprisoned in 2021, there were riots, looting, and other disturbances that resulted in over 350 fatalities.
Zumba’s followers have once again threatened violence this year if things do not go their way, according to Zakhele Ndlovu, a KwaZulu-Natal University politics lecturer.
In favor of Zuma, a small group of MK activists chanted and danced outside the court while donning the party’s green and black colors.
“Vote MK party” was written on some of their signs.
Inside, the blue-suited politician with glasses sat behind his attorneys as they presented their case.
Debating a plea from Zuma’s legal team for six judges to recuse themselves because they were “tainted by bias” took up a large portion of the morning.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa will rule on an appeal that calls into doubt former President Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to compete in this month’s election, which could swing the balance of power in the legislature and choose the nation’s next leader.
The country’s election commission filed an appeal, and a lower court decided that Zuma may run for president. The Johannesburg court is hearing the appeal this Friday.
