Former president Jacob Zuma and the MK Party have triumphed over the Electoral Commission (IEC) after the latter lost the legal battle over Zuma's eligibility to run for election.
The electoral court earlier this week ruled in favour of the party after it challenged the IEC’s decision to uphold 22 objections from South Africans who said Zuma could not go to parliament.
On March 8, the MK Party submitted its list of candidates for the upcoming election, and included Zuma in its list for the National Assembly. The IEC received objections to Zuma’s eligibility to stand for election based on the fact he had been sentenced to a 15-month prison term without the option of a fine.
The IEC on Thursday approached the Constitutional Court on an urgent basis for an order to declare that Zuma was convicted of an offence [in June 2021] and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment, and was accordingly not eligible to be a member of the National Assembly until five years had elapsed since the completion of his sentence.
