Former president Zuma disqualified from South Africa’s general elections

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has been barred from running as a candidate in the country’s upcoming general elections slated for May 29, announced the Electoral Commission (IEC) on Friday.

Zuma, who was ousted by his own party, the African National Congress (ANC), in February 2018 for defying calls to resign, received a 15-month jail sentence in 2021 from South Africa’s highest judicial authority, the Constitutional Court. This verdict came after Zuma walked out of hearings at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

The ANC’s decision to recall Zuma stemmed from public outrage over his alleged connections to the Gupta family, who are accused of embezzling billions from state-owned enterprises like Eskom, leading to financial instability within these entities and rendering crucial infrastructure, including rail networks, inoperative.

The Guptas are currently believed to be residing in Dubai, and South Africa is pursuing their extradition to face trial domestically.

Although Zuma spent only two months behind bars before being granted parole on medical grounds, the parole process was later found to be irregular. Zuma briefly returned to prison but was swiftly released after his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, granted him special remission.

Zuma’s imprisonment sparked widespread unrest, including violence, looting, and fatalities, particularly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal and the economic hub of Gauteng.

There are concerns that a similar situation might arise after his candidacy was declined as the leader of a new party that Zuma helped establish threatened violence.

The Youth President of the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MK), Bonginkosi Khanyile, earlier said all hell will break loose if Zuma and the newly formed party were not allowed on the ballot paper in May.

MK Party is named after the erstwhile military wing of the ANC in exile during the apartheid era, but the ANC has also challenged the use of the name and claimed propriety rights to it.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed firm action against anyone who attempts to disrupt the election.

MK Party had announced publicly that Zuma was their number one candidate for the elections, meaning that he could return to the position of president despite his criminal record.

The IEC, however, said Zuma was not eligible for the elections because of his criminal record.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya cited Section 47 of the Constitution – according to which no person convicted for more than 12 months without the option of a fine – is allowed to hold public office.

“We were unanimous. These are not matters we deal with that are personal. It is a provision of the law against which we must measure an objection and it’s straightforward. It is whether the person qualifies or does not qualify,” Moepya said.

He said Zuma still had recourse to the Electoral Court, the final arbiter in election matters.

They have until April 2 – and, once the court has received those, it will consider the matters and make its decision known,” Moepya said. The Electoral Court is expected to then decide within a week.

“The effect of the objections brought against the former president has been dealt with. What we have done is to exercise the provisions of the law without fear, favour and without prejudice. Anyone who has been removed from the list will have reasons why we have done so.

“We would have relied on the provisions of the Act or the Constitution, and we accept that we have a fundamental responsibility in exercising that role very carefully,” Moepya said.

Zuma has been actively campaigning against the ANC that he had joined as a child and of which he was president for almost a decade.

Zuma is also facing a corruption trial that has been going on for more than a decade as he engaged in repeated delaying tactics in various courts.

Last week, he lost a bid to oust the prosecutor in the trial for alleged bias.

With inputs from PTI