South Africa: Former president Jacob Zuma can run for May election, court rules
Jacob Zuma
Former president Jacob Zuma of South Africa can run for office in the upcoming election, the country’s Electoral Court ruled on Tuesday (Apr 9). This comes after South Africa’s electoral officials last month upheld an objection filed against the former president barring him from doing so.
The decision paves the way for Zuma, 81, to run for president as a part of the opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party which he joined in an attempt to relaunch his political career ahead of the general election.
What did the court say?
In its order, the Electoral Court overturned the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) decision to prevent Zuma from contesting in the upcoming elections.
The court has also dismissed the objection based on which electoral commission president Mosotho Moepya had announced that the former president would not be allowed to run for office.
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The IEC’s decision “in terms of which the electoral commission upheld Dr [Maroba] Matsapola’s objection to the second applicant’s [Zuma] candidacy is set aside and substituted with the following: The objection is hereby dismissed,” the court said in its brief order, a day after it heard arguments.
South Africans will head to polls on May 29 in what is expected to be the most competitive vote since 1994.
Why was Zuma not allowed to contest?
On March 28, Moepya acknowledged that the IEC had received an objection to Zuma’s candidacy and that it had been upheld by the electoral body, without any further details.
The objection said that the former president should not be allowed to run for office due to his criminal record.
At the time, MK had said that they would appeal this decision. Zuma stepped down in 2018 following corruption allegations after being in power for nearly a decade.
Also Read |South Africa: Former president Jacob Zuma barred from running in May election
In 2021, he was handed a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. According to South Africa’s constitution, a person who has been convicted and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison is not allowed to hold public office.
Zuma is also facing charges of corruption over a multi-billion dollar arms deal from the 1990s when he served as the vice president.
The former president’s recent backing was also viewed as a threat to the governing African National Congress (ANC). In January, the ANC suspended Zuma from the party.
(With inputs from agencies)