Share

Mpumelelo Mkhabela | Jacob Zuma's candidacy sparks historic electoral dispute

accreditation
Share your Subscriber Article
You have 5 articles to share every month. Send this story to a friend!
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
loading...
Loading, please wait...
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
In dispute | The Electoral Court issued an order in favour of Jacob Zuma last week, setting aside the decision of the IEC to bar him from contesting, sparking an unprecendented dispute. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)
In dispute | The Electoral Court issued an order in favour of Jacob Zuma last week, setting aside the decision of the IEC to bar him from contesting, sparking an unprecendented dispute. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

For the first time in our 30-year history of democracy, the disqualification criteria based on conviction and sentencing is a matter of a huge constitutional dispute ahead of the national elections, writes Mpumelelo Mkhabela.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) is entitled to appeal the Electoral Court's judgment that allowed Jacob Zuma to stand as a parliamentary candidate in the 29 May elections.

And had Zuma been disqualified, he too would have been justified to appeal to the Constitutional Court in the same way he approached the Electoral Court when the IEC upheld an objection. 

Read this for free
South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years, and we're about to enter a new chapter of fearless journalism. Join our free subscription trial to unlock this story and a world of news aimed to inform, empower, and inspire.
Try our free 14-day trial
Already a subscriber? Sign in
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
President Cyril Ramaphosa will sign the National Health Insurance Bill into law this week.
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
At last. The NHI will improve healthcare for all South Africans.
5% - 257 votes
Cheap politicking before the election. Challenge the Bill in court.
87% - 4893 votes
I don't have strong feelings about the NHI either way.
8% - 457 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.33
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
23.29
-0.9%
Rand - Euro
19.97
-1.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.29
-1.0%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.9%
Platinum
1,094.50
+0.7%
Palladium
1,011.50
-0.0%
Gold
2,414.25
-0.1%
Silver
31.49
+0.1%
Brent-ruolie
83.98
+0.9%
Top 40
73,214
0.0%
All Share
79,531
+0.0%
Resource 10
63,559
+2.2%
Industrial 25
110,578
-1.0%
Financial 15
17,183
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE