Former president Jacob Zuma’s hopes of returning to the National Assembly were dashed by the Constitutional Court on Monday, when it ruled he was not eligible to be an MP, nine days before the watershed 2024 national and provincial elections.
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) said it would comply with the apex court’s ruling.
“Now that the matter has been settled by the highest court and given that the constitutional uncertainties have been clarified, the [IEC] can continue with final preparations for free and fair elections single-mindedly, without apprehension that the elections are susceptible to challenge,” it said.
“To avoid confusion, the [IEC] reiterates that the judgment will not affect the ballot papers ... in any way.
“The photograph of Mr Jacob Zuma will remain in the cluster of identifiers of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. The name of Mr Jacob Zuma will, however, be removed from the list of candidates nominated by MK party.”
MK national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela appealed to members to remain “calm” and vote out the ANC. “This outcome changes nothing. President Zuma is still on the ballot paper.”
Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla took to X declaring “President Zuma is on the ballot paper. High discipline. High morale.”
Stellenbosch University political analyst Prof Amanda Gouws said the big question was whether Zuma’s supporters would accept the ruling that he can’t go to parliament as the judgment curtailed his political ambitions.
“There should be [security] concerns because we don’t know how Zuma’s supporters are going to react. Zuma’s supporters are quite unpredictable. But I think it would have been worse if he was taken off the ballot,” said Gouws.
There should be [security] concerns because we don’t know how Zuma’s supporters are going to react. Zuma’s supporters are quite unpredictable. But I think it would have been worse if he was taken off the ballot
— Prof Amanda Gouws, Stellenbosch University political analyst
Unisa political analyst Prof Lesiba Teffo said it was never Zuma’s intention to go back to parliament. “He can’t afford to lose his presidential perks [by going to] parliament. His salary alone is more than R20m per annum and he has an elaborate security detail.”
He said the “greatest benefit” to the MK party was that Zuma’s face was still on the ballot paper. “Now he needs to come out and tell his people to accept the Concourt outcome. He needs to tell them to go campaign and vote.”
Ndhlela said the justices were “conflicted” and could not have ruled in Zuma’s favour because it would have looked bad.
“They are the ones who handed down that 15-month sentence, so going against their own judgment would have looked bad for them. We are not perturbed by this judgment. Our members must just be calm. They must vote the ANC out,” said Ndhlela.
“We just need a two-thirds majority so that we can change the constitution because it doesn’t reflect the will of the people. Look at it this way: you have 10 judges who are not elected by the citizens of this country making a decision on the rights of the citizens of this country who want to see president Zuma in the National Assembly,” he said.
The ruling comes after MK politician Visvin Reddy was charged with inciting public violence during a speech in March, in which he warned that the country would spiral into civil war if MK was excluded from campaigning or appearing on the ballot paper.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that anyone who threatened any form of unrest would be “followed up and arrested”. He characterised those who made such threats as “enemies of democracy”.
Handing down the 41-page, unanimous judgment, justice Leona Theron said: “It is declared that Mr Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment for purposes of section 47(1)(e) of the constitution and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of, and not qualified to stand for election to, the National Assembly until five years have elapsed since the completion of his sentence.
He can’t afford to lose his presidential perks [by going to] parliament. His salary alone is more than R20m per annum and he has an elaborate security detail
— Prof Lesiba Teffo, Unisa political analyst
“The order of the electoral court is set aside and replaced with the following: the appeal is dismissed. The counter-application is dismissed. There is no order as to costs in this court.”
The IEC appealed directly to the Constitutional Court against an order of the electoral court in April setting aside the IEC’s decision to bar Zuma.
The IEC endorsed objections to Zuma’s candidacy, citing his criminal record stemming from a 15-month jail term handed down by the Constitutional Court in 2021 for his failure to comply with its order to appear before state capture hearings into high-level corruption during his presidency.
Section 47 of the constitution bars individuals sentenced to prison for longer than 12 months without the option of a fine from becoming MPs.
Zuma, who is leader of the MK party and tops the party’s list of candidates to parliament, began serving his sentence on July 8 2021, before being released on medical parole in September 2021. His release was set aside by the Constitutional Court. In August 2023, Ramaphosa granted Zuma remission of sentence, along with more than 9,000 other offenders. Zuma was released after having served three months of his original sentence.
Theron said the term of imprisonment imposed by the judiciary “can be reduced by the president through a remission of sentence, but it does not alter what has been done judicially. Remission of a sentence has the consequence of reducing the sentence to be served.”
She said: “In my view, section 47 (1)(e) focuses on the length of the sentence imposed, not the length of the sentence served. It uses the words: ‘convicted of an offence and sentenced’. If the focus of the section were time served, the text would have said, for example, ‘convicted of an offence and served a sentence’.”
The justices said the electoral court erred in its interpretation of section 47 (1)(e).
“By virtue of the provisions of section 47 (1)(e), Mr Zuma is disqualified from being a candidate for the National Assembly,” the judgment reads.
Update: May 20 2024
This article has been updated with new information.
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