Former President Jacob Zuma hopes to run for the opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party in May elections.
The South African Electoral Commission said it has appealed to the country’s highest court to decide whether former President Jacob Zuma can stand as a candidate in May’s general election.
In a statement on Friday, the commission said it had lodged an “urgent and direct” appeal with the Constitutional Court to “provide certainty” on the correct interpretation of the constitutional article on the candidacies of convicted persons.
“Such clarity is important in the current matter as it is a current issue, but also for future elections,” it said.
The appeal is the latest twist in a legal battle over the 81-year-old politician’s eligibility after an electoral tribunal ruled this week that Zuma could run for the office, overturning an earlier decision that had barred him from running.
Zuma hopes to run for president on behalf of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), which he joined last year after condemning the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party he once led.
On May 29, South Africans will go to the polls to elect 400 members of the General Assembly. A month later, lawmakers in the new parliament will elect the next president.
MK is banking on Zuma’s popularity and hopes to win enough votes to secure parliamentary seats while reducing the ANC’s share of the vote.
The ANC’s share of the vote could fall below 50 percent for the first time since 1994. Without a parliamentary majority, he would be forced to seek coalition partners to stay in power, making Zuma a potential kingmaker, analysts say.
Some opinion polls suggest MK is polling above 10 percent nationally, a share that would make it the third or fourth political force behind the ANC and the liberal Democratic Alliance.
The party is expected to make a particularly strong showing in the contested KwaZulu-Natal region – Zuma’s home province.
This is largely due to Zuma’s considerable political influence, who despite scandals and corruption allegations is particularly popular among the country’s more than 10 million Zulus.
The electoral commission had disqualified Zuma, saying the constitution prohibited anyone from being sentenced to more than 12 months in prison.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison in June 2021 after refusing to testify before a panel investigating financial corruption and nepotism during his presidency.
His lawyers argued that the sentence did not disqualify him because it followed a civil rather than criminal procedure and was shortened by a decree.
Just two months after his prison sentence, Zuma was released on medical parole.
The commission stressed that the appeal was “not intended to interfere in the political field” but rather to ensure a “free and fair” electoral process.