The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s bid to overturn the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) decision to bar former president Jacob Zuma from being one of the party’s candidates to parliament after the May 29 polls will be heard at the high court in Johannesburg on Monday.
Zuma’s name appears first on the MK party’s list, but the IEC in March announced that the former president is ineligible to stand as a candidate because of his criminal record stemming from a 15-month prison sentence imposed by the Constitutional Court in 2021.
Section 47 of the constitution bars individuals sentenced to prison for longer than 12 months without the option of a fine from becoming MPs.
In the appeal documents dated April 2, Zuma’s legal representatives argued that he had not been convicted of an offence. They said the remission of Zuma’s sentence was not taken into account in computing the ultimate and effective sentence, and his sentence to imprisonment was unappealable.
The court case will take place ahead of the April 12 deadline by the IEC to issue each candidate, including independent candidates, a certificate stating that the person is a candidate in this year’s election.
Also on Monday, the DA in KwaZulu-Natal will hold its “Ready to Govern” conference in which the party will outline its plans for the province after the elections. It aims to model its governance of KwaZulu-Natal on that of the Western Cape, which it has governed since 2009.
Various polls have shown the ANC is likely to lose its national majority, and its electoral support is projected to fall below 40% for the first time.
KwaZulu-Natal has been a hotbed of political activity, with the ANC, DA, EFF and the IFP all launching their election manifestos in Durban between February and March. The province is also the home of the newly formed MK party, which is expected to shave electoral support from the ANC.
On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa will receive letters of credence from the newly appointed heads of mission from countries across the world. “Letters of credence are official diplomatic documents presented to the president by heads of mission-designate who have been nominated by their respective governments to serve as ambassadors to SA,” the presidency said in a statement.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile will on Tuesday deliver a public lecture on the 30th anniversary of SA’s democracy. “The lecture is expected to highlight considerable progress made by the democratic government in fostering a more inclusive and equitable society since 1994,” the presidency said in a statement.
The multiparty charter, a group of opposition parties that banded together to oust the ANC from power, on Wednesday will release its joint policy proposal to professionalise the public service.
On the same day, DA leader John Steenhuisen will be on the campaign trail in the Tshwane, where the party governs along with other coalition partners including ActionSA and Freedom Front Plus.
“Steenhuisen will launch his Rescue South Africa Tour, a campaign roadshow that will showcase the very best the DA has to offer citizens ahead of South Africa’s watershed General Election on 29 May… Traversing the length and breadth of the country, Steenhuisen will bring the Rescue SA Tour to all eight of South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities,” the DA said in a statement.
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