09 April 2024
TUME HURU YA UCHAGUZI YA TAIFA
Tanzania ina la kujifunza kupitia hukumu hii ya kihistoria ya mahakama ya Afrika ya Kusini juu ya Tume ilioojaribu kuengua jina la Jacob Zuma wa MK Party ya Afrika ya Kusini, kuwa Tume ya Uchaguzi isiwe kikwazo bali majukumu yake ni wezeshi kufanikisha mchakato mzima wa uchaguzi na kama kuna malalamiko juu ya majina ya wagombea basi Mahakama tu ndiyo inaweza kusema nani anafaa na nani ametimiza vigezo kukiwepo pingamizi
09 April 2024
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MK party wins Electoral Court case to allow Jacob Zuma onto the ballot to contest elections
Illustrative image | Former South African president Jacob Zuma. (Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee / AFP | Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)
By
Queenin Masuabi
09 Apr 2024
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The Electoral Court has upheld the appeal by the MK party in its bid to keep former president Jacob Zuma on its parliamentary candidate list.
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The uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party has continued its winning streak in the courts and will ensure that the face of its campaign, former president Jacob Zuma, is not removed from its Parliamentary lists.
The Electoral Court ruled on Tuesday afternoon that it was granting the MK party leave to appeal and that the objection against Zuma’s candidacy to become a Member of Parliament had been set aside.
“The application for leave to appeal is granted. The appeal succeeds. The decision of the Electoral Commission of 28 March 2024 in terms of which the Electoral Commission upheld Dr [Maroba] Matsapola’s objection to the second applicant’s candidacy (Mr Zuma) is set aside and substituted with the following: ‘The objection is hereby dismissed’,” the order reads.
Zuma is an integral part of the MK party’s campaign as he has drawn large crowds and support for the party, which was officially registered in September 2023.
However, his appearance on the party’s candidate list came under scrutiny as Zuma appeared to violate the provision in the Constitution that bars candidates who have received a 12-month or more prison sentence, without the option of a fine, within the last five years. A member of the public objected to Zuma’s nomination and the IEC upheld the objection, leading to the MK party appealing in the matter.
Appeal ‘futile’
Election expert and former IEC commissioner Terry Tselane told
Daily Maverick that the order handed down by the Electoral Court came as no surprise.
“For me, instead of actually dealing with the merits, just in terms of the procedure after saying that the IEC has the legal powers to administer section 47 of the Constitution that deals with the National Assembly, it has nothing to do with the IEC.
“This is not the first time that a case like this has gone to the Electoral Court. Remember there was an objection against the candidacy of Winnie Mandela in 2009 and the Electoral Court also dismissed the objection and allowed Mrs Mandela to become a candidate,” he said