Hurdles still block the road to parliament for Zuma

EVEN if the Constitutional Court rules in favour of the appeal by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), Jacob Zuma’s face will still be on the ballot paper, but due to his criminal record he may be ineligible to become a member of Parliament.

Zuma’s name was initially removed from the umkhonto wesizwe Party (MKP) candidate list after the IEC had received an objection against him. But it was later reinstated by the Electoral Court, which has yet to release its full judgment to justify its decision.

IEC deputy CEO Mawethu Mosery said if the apex court ruled against the Electoral Court, Zuma would still appear on the ballot paper as “he is the party leader”. “The ballot paper and the leader of the party go hand in hand, whether the party’s leader qualifies to go to Parliament or not.”

The IEC is appealing on an urgent basis against the Electoral Court’s ruling and the matter has yet to be argued at the Constitutional Court.

MKP activists have lashed out at the IEC for removing their leader from the list, in which he was number one.

Jabulani Khumalo, who is number two on the list, said the Electoral Court would release its full judgment “on Monday”.

The objection was based on the fact that Zuma was sentenced to a 15-month jail term without an option of a fine three years ago for defying a Concourt order that he appear before the state capture commission led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

After serving only three months, Zuma was granted a remission by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Section 47 (e) of the Constitution states that a person who had been sentenced to more than 12 months without an option of a fine is not eligible to participate in the elections before the end of five years after completing the sentence.

Mosery said even if Zuma appeared on the ballot paper as the face of the MKP, if the Concourt ruled in favour of the IEC’S appeal, Zuma would not qualify to be an MP. “You can be a leader of a party but still say, ‘I don’t want to go to Parliament’. All I am saying is that to be a leader of a party does not suggest or demand that you are also a candidate to go to the legislature. There is no such requirement.”

MKP spokesperson Nhlamuko Ndhela accused the IEC of waging a proxy war against Zuma. “The IEC is now entering political space and is now becoming a player and an arbiter. They are now politicising this matter.”

However, Mosery denied the allegations. “(Zuma) has been reinstated on the candidate list, so there is absolutely no issue about us directing all of this to Zuma. All of you who are saying that are misleading the electorate.”

He said only the Concourt would now decide whether or not Zuma would be elected to go to Parliament.

Mosery said the IEC appealed because it wanted to understand some aspects of the Constitution regarding the implementation of Section 47.

“We went to court and we said we don’t have detailed judgment so we do not know the basics on which the court says what we have decided was not correct and proper,” he said.

He said the IEC was seeking clarity on who was mandated by the Constitution to implement Section 47. Mosery said the IEC believed it had the authority to implement Section 47.

However, Ndhlela said Mosery was “overstepping his role”.

“(Section) 47 (1) gives power to the National Assembly, and not the IEC, to make that kind of a call (whether Zuma qualified to be an MP),” he said.