South Africa’s highest constitutional court has barred ex-president Jacob Zuma from running for next week’s general elections. His 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court was the reason for his disqualification. He was convicted in 2021 for refusing to testify at an inquiry investigating corruption during his presidential tenure which ended in 2018. The ruling bars
Zuma from taking up a seat in parliament or in any of the provincial legislatures.
General Secretary of Zuma’s MK party, Single Ngubane said that the party is disappointed with the ruling but the decision will not affect campaigns for the upcoming elections.
The electoral commission also said that Zuma’s name would be taken out from MK’s list of parliamentary candidates while his image would remain on the ballot papers along with his party’s logo. Mr. Zuma is yet to comment on the ruling.
MK’s officials have said that the party is focused on getting a two-thirds majority so that the country’s constitution could change for Zuma’s return to power.
Zuma’s lawyers had argued that because he was released after three months in prison by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the rest of his sentence was canceled. The court however disagreed, establishing that the length of time he actually spent in prison was irrelevant.
According to Justice Theron, South Africa’s constitution barred anyone sentenced to 12 months in prison without the option of a fine from serving in parliament in order to protect the integrity of the “democratic regime” established after the end of the apartheid in 1994.
“The court has ruled, and as I have often said, that is the highest court in the land and we have given the judiciary the right to arbitrate disputes amongst us in terms of our constitution”, said President Ramaphosa in an interview with 702.
“The ruling could weaken MK’s chances in the election if its members joined the party out of loyalty to a ‘single individual’, but if they genuinely believed in its cause then they “would have to focus the activities of the party without him”, said Levy Ndou in an interview with BBC.
Zuma’s removal from power was great news for many South Africans as his nine-year rule was marred by a widespread allegations of corruption to which he always denied.
Last December, the former president said that he could never vote for a party led by President Ramaphosa as he spearheaded MK’s campaign.
South Africans will be voting for the national parliament as well as nine provincial legislatures. The president is elected by the new parliament, while each legislature elects a provincial premier.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, who remains popular among many voters, recently joined the ANC’s campaign in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, denouncing Mr Zuma as a “wolf in sheep’s skin” and a “counter-revolutionary”.
Source: www.bbc.com ,
