Former president Jacob Zuma’s legal team on Tuesday were planning to write to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to appeal its decision to remove him from its list of candidates for Parliament for the May 29 elections.
Last week, the IEC upheld an objection to Zuma’s candidature, essentially disqualifying him from standing for a legislative seat in the elections. This is due to his criminal conviction for contempt of court.
Zuma and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) had until Tuesday to appeal the decision at the Electoral Court.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said Zuma had been briefed by his legal team, who were still finalising their grounds for appeal but the party was confident the IEC would receive the former president’s response ahead of the deadline.
“We sent an email to the IEC on Monday to notify them of the intention to file an appeal but there was no response. On Tuesday we reached out to them again and they confirmed receiving our email but we had already drafted our response,” Ndhlela said.
Last week, the MKP said the IEC had taken an unusual step in disqualifying Zuma. “The IEC took an unprecedented and short-sighted position to disqualify president Zuma from participating in electoral processes without the conclusion and the outcomes of a legal process.
“This has therefore led us to raise questions and concerns about the IEC’s posture as an organ under the government machinery of Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC, which ought to be beyond reproach,” the party said.
MKP chairperson Jabulani Khumalo said Zuma would remain as the party’s presidential candidate.
“Zuma is going to be the president, there is no case against Zuma. They have been trying for years, over 21 years, to put him to jail ... they failed because he is a straightforward man.
Zuma will be the president whether they like it or not.”
The public and other interested stakeholders had until March 27 to object to the candidacy of individuals nominated for Parliament by their parties or those standing as independents.
The IEC last week said it had received more than 80 objections to the candidacy of parliamentary nominees from several parties, including the MKP. Eight of those candidates were found to have criminal records, including Zuma.
The IEC said a candidate can be disqualified if they have been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine.
The electoral body endorsed objections to Zuma’s nomination to stand for Parliament because of his criminal record, related to a 15-month prison sentence handed to him by the Constitutional Court after a contempt of court conviction in 2021.
The electoral body stressed to the MKP that as an organisation, it was not prohibited from taking part in the elections, only Zuma cannot be a candidate for Parliament.
IEC commissioner Janet Love earlier this year said the electoral body is guided by the laws of the country on the eligibility of candidates.
“That excludes anybody who has been given a sentence, which was not the subject of any deferral or so on and in that sense, it is not ourselves, but the laws of the country that would stand as an impediment for that candidacy.”
If Zuma’s appeal is lodged, the Electoral Court has until April 9 to make a ruling.
The Mercury