South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma, who held the top office from 2009 to 2018, has been disqualified from parliamentary elections due to be held on May 29, the electoral commission announced.
The chairman of the committee, Mosotho Moepia, said that an objection was accepted for Zuma, without clarifying the reasons why the exclusion was decided.
Zuma has until April 2 to appeal.
“The party that nominated him has been informed, as have those who submitted the objection,” added the chairman of the committee.
In its announcement, the electoral commission only reminded that, based on the Constitution, “someone who has been found guilty of a crime and sentenced to a non-compensable prison sentence of more than 12 months cannot be a candidate.” Zuma, accused of multiple corruption cases, was sentenced in 2021 to 15 months in prison for contempt of justice. Theoretically, he cannot seek a new term, since he has already served two presidential terms.
His imprisonment sparked riots and looting, the largest since the end of apartheid, which claimed more than 350 lives.
South Africans go to the polls in two months to renew parliament which will then elect the country’s next president.
Jacob Zuma, 81, once a top figure in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), made a surprise appearance in December when he announced his support for the small, radical party Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK, “Spear of the Nation” in Zulu).
His joining this fledgling party was a blow to the ANC which has recently been slipping in the polls due to repeated corruption scandals and the poor social and economic situation in the country. It could even, for the first time, fail to secure an absolute majority in parliament and be forced to form a coalition government.
According to opinion polls, the ANC will secure just over 40% in May’s elections, compared to 27% for the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), and 13% for MK.
RES-EMP