South Africa’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that former president Jacob Zuma is not eligible to serve as a member of parliament, a decision that adds to political turmoil in the country with a crucial national election just over a week away. It could get even deeper.
The decision could end the political career of Zuma, 82, an anti-apartheid hero who once led the African National Congress party. Mr Zuma clashed with the ANC last year after announcing he would support a new political system.
The Constitutional Court overturned an earlier decision by the Special Electoral Tribunal, ruling that Zuma could not stand in the May 29 election because of his past convictions.
According to the South African Electoral Commission, Zuma cannot be a member of parliament, but because he is registered as a party leader, his face will appear on the ballot next to his new party, Umkhonto Wisizwe. .
Mr. Zuma’s image as a populist figure who attracts passionate supporters has both lifted the party’s fortunes and dealt a blow to the ANC, which is struggling to maintain the absolute majority it has held since the inception of South Africa’s democracy 30 years ago. may be sufficient to give
Zuma resigned from office in 2018 amid widespread protests over allegations of widespread corruption within the government. Three years later, he was found guilty and sentenced for failing to testify in a public inquiry into corruption.
Mr Zuma’s attempt to return to politics has been a major test for South Africa’s young democracy.
He became the first former president of post-apartheid South Africa to serve a sentence after his arrest in July 2021, but was released on medical parole just two months into his 15-month sentence. The Constitutional Court subsequently revoked his medical parole, but Zuma later received a presidential pardon from his successor-turned-political rival Cyril Ramaphosa.
The court’s decision hinged on the length of Zuma’s sentence. The court ruled that although he was granted a pardon to reduce his prison term, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison and therefore was ineligible to run.
According to South African law, a person cannot become a member of parliament if he or she has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment for more than 12 months.
“It has been announced that Mr Zuma has been found guilty of a crime and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 12 months,” Judge Leona Theron said.
The judge added that Mr Zuma is “not entitled or qualified” to stand for election until five years after the end of his sentence.
During a marathon court appearance on May 10, Zuma’s lawyers forced Constitutional Court judges to resign, claiming that the same judges who sentenced him were also ruling on his membership in parliament. I tried. That argument was rejected.
Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, a lawyer representing the Electoral Commission, which opposed Mr Zuma’s candidacy, said the law banning people convicted of crimes from running for parliament was “currently a self-proclaimed They play a role in protecting the public from lawbreakers.” Members of Congress. ”
Zuma’s decision to lead the opposition party in his campaign has deeply destabilized South African politics. Founded in December, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) quickly became one of the most visible opposition organizations in an election in which a record 52 political parties contested votes in a national referendum.
South Africans vote for political parties rather than individuals, but MK appears to be banking on the appeal of familiar faces, with Zuma’s image all over election posters and T-shirts.
The party already has a foothold in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s traditional stronghold. Opinion polls suggest Mr Zuma’s party could play a kingmaker role in a coalition government in the state.
The party is attracting voters dissatisfied with the ruling ANC, but it is also drawing support from smaller opposition parties that are struggling to gain a foothold.
Zuma campaigned over the weekend in Soweto, a former center of support for the ANC in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, where supporters filled a soccer stadium.
Zuma’s arrest and imprisonment in 2021 sparked deadly riots, and observers fear his exclusion from parliament could lead to renewed violence.
John Eligon I contributed a report from Johannesburg.
