2024-04-12 12:57:02
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa announced on Friday April 12 that it had approached the Constitutional Court with a view to preventing former President Jacob Zuma from running in the next general elections scheduled for May 29
The move was initiated following an order from the Electoral Tribunal of South Africa last week overturned the Electoral Commission’s decision to bar Mr Zuma from standing as a candidate in the next poll.
In documents filed with the Constitutional Court, IEC President Mosotho Moepya said the Constitutional Court is called upon to make an order declaring Zuma ineligible and thereby setting aside the Electoral Court order.
He also stressed that the Commission was “unable to wait an indefinite period”, as it was “an urgent matter of national importance which must be addressed”, warning that if it is not finalized before the elections on May 29, there is a real risk that the election results will be contested.
The CEI’s lawyer, Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, had argued that Mr. Zuma had been found “guilty of a crime of contempt of justice” and that the proclamation of reduced sentence granted by President Cyril Ramaphosa should never annul a sentence imposed.
The Electoral Commission has indicated that a candidate can be disqualified if they have been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the possibility of a fine. In 2021, the former President was sentenced to 15 months in prison following being found guilty of contempt of court for his refusal to testify before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
For his part, the lawyer for Zuma’s UM khonto We Sizwe (MK) party, Dali Mpofu, had argued that the IEC did not have the right to decide who might be elected to the National Assembly. “The case was essentially regarding the denial of a person’s right to participate in politics,” Mr Mpofu said, accusing the Electoral Commission of wanting to disenfranchise millions of people who wish to choose their leader through the new party MK.
“This cannot be the attitude of any South African institution, let alone an independent institution whose job it is to ensure that our rights guaranteed by section 19 of the Constitution are realized,” he said. he lamented.
Par WritingEditorial Committee
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