Jacob Zuma free to run in South Africa elections, court rules
Former South African President Jacob Zuma gestures as he delivers a speech during a rally in his support outside the High Court, in Durban on June 8, 2018.
What you need to know:
- The electoral commission had argued that lawbreakers cannot be lawmakers.
- Mr Zuma defected from the ruling party ANC last year and joined uMkhonto we Sizwe.
The Electoral Court in South Africa has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma, is eligible to be on the ballot for the elections slated for May 29.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday afternoon, the court dismissed the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) decision to bar Mr Zuma from returning to Parliament.
"The appeal succeeds. The decision of the electoral commission of March 28, 2024 in terms of which the electoral commission upheld Dr [Maroba] Matsapola's objection to the second applicant's candidacy [Mr Zuma] is set aside and substituted with the following: The objection is hereby dismissed," the court ruled.
The IEC had stated that Mr Zuma could not be a Member of Parliament due to his conviction for contempt of court and 15-month sentence in 2021.
However, the decision was overturned after Mr Zuma’s legal representative, advocate Dali Mpofu, argued in court that the IEC had no authority to remove the ex-SA leader from the list.
"The point of the matter is that we all know that there was no trial, plea, or standing in the dock. This is the only person who sat in jail without being found guilty or not found guilty. It is Mr Zuma,” Zuma's defence team argued.
Zuma, who is the leader of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party, was jailed in July 2021 for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear at the Zondo Inquiry into State Capture.
But he only served three months, and not the full 15 months, after President Cyril Ramaphosa granted him remission in August 2023, which reduced his sentence.
On the other hand, advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitob of the IEC, argued that the commission was applying section 47 of the SA Constitution, which states that lawbreakers cannot be lawmakers.
Mr Zuma defected from South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), last year and joined uMkhonto we Sizwe. Mr Zuma led the ANC party between 2007 and 2017.
