Jacob Zuma will know today if he will be on list

THE Electoral Court is expected to deliver judgment today on whether former president Jacob Zuma should be included on the list of candidates to Parliament following an application by his party objecting to his removal.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party lodged an application opposing the removal of Zuma from the list because of his conviction and sentence by the Constitutional Court for defying its order.

Judge Dumisani Zondi said the court would deliver the judgment today, to stick to the timetable of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), to make a decision on objections made against candidates contesting for seats in Parliament.

The commission squared off the with MK Party yesterday, when they argued over the removal of Zuma from the list of candidates.

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, for the IEC, argued that the drafters of the Constitution were clear when they crafted a section that barred people who have been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison.

Ngcukaitobi said law breakers could not be allowed to be lawmakers.

“Mr Zuma is one of the people precluded by the Constitution and that will never change,” said Ngcukaitobi.

But MK Party counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, argued that the IEC had no authority to disqualify Zuma from being on the list of candidates for Parliament. He said that authority lay with the National Assembly.

Mpofu argued that they were dealing with a serious matter that sought to disenfranchise millions of voters who wanted to vote for a candidate of their choice.

Mpofu said Zuma was convicted and sentenced by the Constitutional Court without being allowed to appeal.

“We all know there was no trial, no plea. Zuma was the only person who sat in court without pleading guilty or not,” he said.

Zuma’s sentence was reduced after he was granted remission of sentence by President Cyril Ramaphosa, when he made an announcement on thousands of prisoners who were granted remission of sentence.

Mpofu said what had brought them to court was interpretation of section 47 of the Constitution, which dealt with the membership of the National Assembly.

“It is about the interpretation of section 47. It is about whether the administration of section 47 lies with the IEC,” said Mpofu.

“That is where we are. Section 47 deals with the membership of the National Assembly. The section reminds us of section 19, that every citizen who qualifies to vote, including Zuma, is eligible to be a member of the National Assembly.

“The IEC must tell this court where it gets the authority to implement section 47. The answer is nowhere.

“The only power of the IEC is found in section 190 of the Constitution. It says the commission must manage elections,” he said.