Former president Jacob Zuma, who was thrust into the limelight in the past few weeks because of a series of court cases against the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, is set to hog the headlines again this week.
The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has lodged an appeal to the Constitutional Court against the electoral court’s decision that allowed him to contest the national and provincial elections on May 29.
It has done so on an urgent basis and is waiting to hear from the apex court. With the elections next month, it is expected that the hearing will take place this week — if the Constitutional Court agrees to hear the appeal.
The electoral court did not give reasons for its ruling.
The IEC contends that Zuma was disqualified by a section of the constitution that bars citizens sentenced to 12 months in prison without the option of a fine. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months for contempt of court by the Constitutional Court in 2021.
The electoral court upheld Zuma’s appeal in which the former president argued he was unfairly barred from standing for parliament because of the sentence, which was remitted by President Cyril Ramaphosa after he served only three of the 15-month sentence.
His legal team argued that the IEC had usurped the role of the National Assembly to deal with the suitability of candidates.
Should the top court hear the case again, it will provide a public platform for Zuma and his party to hog the limelight on national television. The former president usually addresses party followers after court sittings.
The electoral court ruling is a big win for MK, which has in Zuma a prominent figure with a large following. He lends credibility and visibility to the party, which derives its name from the ANC’s paramilitary wing.
The DA leadership will be campaigning hard to retain the national and provincial vote in the Western Cape this week. Party leader John Steenhuisen is expected to tour the length and breadth of the province after the DA has shown an electoral decline there since 2014.
The DA is facing renewed pressure from smaller parties such as the Patriotic Alliance (PA), ActionSA and Rise Mzansi, which are all appealing to the DA’s traditional liberal voter base. It is also facing pressure from GOOD, led by minister of tourism and former Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.
De Lille and the PA’s Gayton McKenzie are their parties’ premier candidates in the Western Cape.
The possibility of the DA losing its outright majority in the Western Cape is not implausible as its share of the electoral vote has declined since its peak of 59% in 2014. In the 2019 national elections, the DA received 55.45% of the vote in the province and dropped to 54.26% in the 2021 local government elections. However, the party had the overwhelming majority of the vote in the City of Cape Town in the 2021 local elections.
Political newcomer Rise Mzansi’s volunteers, organisers and leaders will gather in Johannesburg on Monday to outline the party’s Gauteng plan.
The party said Gauteng needed new leaders who would implement a plan that would ensure that residents lived happy and dignified lives, which was a departure from “the empty promises made by the political establishment”.
With jobs being a top campaign priority for most political party, the government has its eye firmly on that issue.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is this week expected to host King Mswati. Ramaphosa had a one-day visit to Eswatini earlier this month where he discussed relations between the two countries.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile will on April 17 launch the Thought Leadership Dialogue on how to improve local government.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.