Zuma pardon key to MK Party's case
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party's (MKP) bid to overturn the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) decision to bar former President Jacob Zuma from being one of its candidates will be heard in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) today.
Business Day reports that Zuma’s name appears first on the MKP’s list, but the IEC in March announced that he is ineligible to stand because of his criminal record stemming from a 15-month prison sentence imposed by the Constitutional Court in 2021.
Section 47 of the Constitution bars individuals sentenced to prison for longer than 12 months without the option of a fine from becoming MPs.
In the appeal documents dated 2 April, Zuma’s legal representatives argued that he had not been convicted of an offence.
They said the remission of Zuma’s sentence was not taken into account in computing the ultimate and effective sentence, and his sentence to imprisonment was unappealable.
The court case takes place ahead of Friday’s deadline by the IEC to issue each candidate, including independent candidates, a certificate stating that the person is a candidate in this year’s election.
Will President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pardon be the key to allowing Zuma to contest the poll?
Political analyst Professor Dirk Kotze seems to think so. In an interview with the SABC, Kotze said the pardon Zuma received from Ramaphosa will likely be used by the MKP to argue its case.
Zuma was released from prison in August 2023 after being pardoned by Ramaphosa. The former President spent little more than an hour behind bars, after being sentenced for contempt of court. At the time, Ramaphosa approved the remission of non-violent offenders to ease the overcrowding of SA’s prisons.
The Citizen reports that Kotze said the Electoral Court will have to decide if the presidential pardon means that the Constitution’s rules still apply.
‘Zuma was sentenced to 15 months … So, from that point of view, he was disqualified. But now there are arguments that say that President Ramaphosa announced a general release of prisoners at the same time as he pardoned people who were on parole. Any form of parole, that they will be able to conclude their sentence immediately. And on the basis of that, he enjoys a form of presidential immunity or presidential pardon; and for that reason, this determination by the Constitution does not apply to him anymore,’ he said.
The Citizen notes that the IEC said Zuma was not eligible to stand in the elections because of section 47 and 106 of the Constitution.
This prevents any person convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine from contesting.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
