MK Party Appeals Jacob Zuma’s Candidacy at Electoral Court

• The MK Party said former President Jacob Zuma's removal from its National Assembly candidate list would disadvantage his supporters
• The party appealed the IEC's decision to Zuma from its list ahead of the 29 May 2024 General Election at the Electoral Court
• Zuma's exclusion stems from his 15-month jail sentence for refusing to testify at the State Capture Inquiry in 2021

Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered court cases and current affairs on radio for over 15 years. Do you have a political story you would like to share? Email zingisa.chirwa@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

The MK Party's legal counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, said former president Jacob Zuma's exclusion from the ballot would disadvantage Zuma and his followers.

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MK Party backs Zuma in Electoral Court

According to Newzroom Afrika, Mpofu argued that if Zuma is not allowed to remain on the list, MK Party supporters would be deprived of their right to vote for a candidate.

According to News24, the IEC would argue that the former president and his party knew about his disqualification from contesting the 29 May 2024 General Elections.

The party appeared before the Electoral Court sitting in Johannesburg on 8 April 2024 to appeal the IEC's decision to withdraw Zuma from its National Assembly candidate list.

The IEC's decision emanates from the former president's 15-month jail sentence for refusing to testify at the State Capture Inquiry in 2021.

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Grounds of disqualification from the candidate list include a 12-month or more prison sentence without a fine option.

South Africans respond to MK Party's appeal

DecideDied said:

“If Jacob Gupta is allowed to be on the ballot, then it will be a violation of everyone's constitutional rights. Jacob and the MKP can go cry a river.”

Prince Cloete commented:

“Dali does not know what he is talking about. This is NOT presidential elections. Voters vote for a PARTY. Unless Jacob is an independent candidate, Dali can argue the point he is making.”

calvin maila comment on Mpofu's argument:

“He is completely lost. He is not arguing the case he brought to court but the case Zuma was already convicted on.”

SipsF1 added:

“In my view, it’s a reasonable logical argument, but whether they’re right on merits or not will be determined by the court.”

Jason Coates asked:

“An ethno-nationalist party led by a convicted criminal? Yeah, what could go wrong?”

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Inside former President Jacob Zuma's appeal

In recent Briefly News, Jacob Zuma's legal team was expected to argue that he has not been convicted of a crime and has the right to appeal.

Msholozi's legal team said the former leader was not allowed to appeal his sentence after he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

Source: Briefly News