The Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) are set to face off in court on Friday after the electoral body challenged former president Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to be on the party’s candidate list.
The matter is before the Constitutional Court as the Electoral Court had ruled that Zuma was able to stand as a candidate despite being handed a 15-month prison sentence by the Constitutional Court in June 2021 for contempt of court.
The MKP has asked that the six Constitutional Court judges who dealt with his contempt matter to recuse themselves from the present appeal.
On Thursday the IEC said no matter the outcome of the appeal, it would have no bearing on the May 29 elections as all electoral processes had been concluded and no more changes to the ballot or the electoral lists could be made.
According to the IEC, the ruling of the Electoral Court in the Zuma matter was problematic for the work of the IEC and it wanted the apex court to rule on the matter once and for all.
The IEC said as the elections body, it was mandated to ensure that candidates who stood for the elections could stand in the National Assembly once elected.
“The fact that the commission is appealing, it is not because of the personalities involved, but it is because it understands that the decision of the Electoral Court has implications on constitutional matters that implicate the role and obligations of the commission,” IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said.
Asked whether Zuma was ready for the legal showdown, MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said it was not a case of being ready, but rather a question of whether their request for the justices to be recused had been accepted.
“There are certain people who must recuse themselves,” he said.
Zuma, who is now the leader and face of the MKP, said he and his party were of the view that six of the justices would be biased against him.
The Mercury