Postponement of MK judgment ‘concerning’
THE uMkhonto weSizwe Party says it is concerned and disappointed by yesterday’s postponement of the court judgment by the Electoral Court which was supposed to have been handed down electronically at 11am.
The judgment yesterday by the Supreme Court of Appeal Electoral Court in Bloemfontein, Free State, has been moved to today to now be handed down by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg.
It was reported that an electronic copy was supposed to have been sent to litigants today, but that was retracted.
Yesterday, the ANC was due to give an update following the judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.
The chairman of the court, Delisile Nhlapho, informed the affected parties that there were some details the court was dealing with.
“Kindly note that there are changes effected regarding delivery of the judgment as it will no longer be handed down today at 11am. I will communicate further details very soon as we are still finalising some details,” Nhlapho wrote.
MK spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela said: “This postponement raises flags, quite honestly. They sent an email on Friday giving us the date and time of the announcement. When asked about the delay, they are not saying. I guess we have to wait and we will take it from there. Clearly we are at their mercy.”
When it comes to the expected outcome, Ndlela said the MK Party presented solid arguments, adding that he was confident of a favourable outcome.
“On the back of the solid argument that we presented in court last week, we are confident of a favourable outcome. The ANC had an opportunity to raise their objections but they did not. Now they want to come to the courts and ask for a condonement. Why now, and after (former) president Zuma announced the MK Party. It is clear that the ANC is scared. We have a solid case and we believe the judgment will be in our favour,” he said.
The ANC and the MK Party squared off in the Electoral Court last week.
The ruling party wants the court to review and set aside the MK Party’s registration with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
According to media reports, IEC deputy CEO Mawethu Mosery had initially rejected MK’s registration application on August 4, 2023 but approved it on September 7, 2023 after the party submitted a supplemented application.
Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC, representing the ruling party, told the court during her submissions last week that Mosery was not authorised to invite the MK to supplement its deed of foundation.
“The door was not closed to them to make a new application to be on the ballot. But they could not supplement,” she said.