Constitutional Court Rules Jacob Zuma Is Not Eligible to Run for Parliament in General Elections

• The apex court, the Constitutional Court, ruled that Jacob Zuma was not fit to run for a seat in Parliament in the upcoming elections
• The presiding judges read the ruling on 20 May after an extensive legal bout between the IEC and Jacob Zuma
• South Africans were displeased with the rulings, but many pledged continued support for the MKP

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, the State of the Nation Address, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

PRETORIA—The Constitutional Court ruled that former president Jacob Zuma cannot run for Parliament in the upcoming elections, ending a long battle between the Independent Electoral Commission and Zuma.

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ConCourt rules against Zuma

@Newzroom405 posted a video of Constitutional Court Judge Leona Theron reading the ruling. Theron said that Zuma cannot run for president because of his 2021 sentence in which he was convicted of contempt of court.

"This court concludes that Mr Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment for the purposes of Section 47(1)(e) of the constitution and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of, and not qualify to stand for election to, the National Assembly until five years have elapsed, which is the completion of his sentence," she said. The applicant is given leave to appeal directly to the court," she said.

View the tweet here:

What you need to know about the Zuma vs IEC battle

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• The IEC banned Zuma after the MKP listed him as a candidate for Parliament and then for the presidency
• The Supreme Court of Appeal lifted the IEC's ban after Zuma took the IEC to court
• The IEC requested the Electoral Court to supply reasons for allowing Zuma to run for president despite having a criminal record

South Africans furious with the judgement

South Africans commenting on @ZANewsFlash's tweet were not happy with the ruling.

Xuffler said:

"They have a personal vendetta against Nxamalala. Cupcake was involved in this!"

Ntokozo said:

"Oksalayo, we are going to vote for MK as some have already done so."

Mfarisi said:

"We knew about that but will still vote for MK."

Anele said:

"President JZ cannot lose presidential benefits just for a seat in parliament. We have to get 2/3 majority to get him back into office."

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I proudly vote MK said:

"By doing so, this ConCourt is pushing us to vote for the MK Party."

MKP calls for IEC commissioner to step down

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that the MKP demanded that the IEC's commissioner, Janet Love, step down.

The MKP's call came after the Electoral Court dismissed the IEC's ban on Zuma. The MKP believed Love was biased in her dealings with the Zuma case.

Source: Briefly News