CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma was disqualified Monday from running in next week’s national elections because of a previous criminal conviction, a decision by the country’s highest court that is sure to stoke political tensions increase ahead of a crucial vote.
The Constitutional Court said a section of the constitution that bars people from standing as candidates if they have been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the possibility of a fine applies to 82-year-old Zuma. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt by the Constitutional Court in 2021 for refusing to testify in a judicial inquiry into government corruption.
The case over whether that sentence barred Zuma from next Wednesday’s elections came about because he had no way to appeal the top court ruling that sent him to prison.
He was initially disqualified by the Independent Electoral Commission, which runs South Africa’s elections, before winning an appeal to the Electoral Court, which said that because he had no appeal against the contempt ruling, it did not apply in his situation.
The Constitutional Court annulled this on Monday. It states that Zuma may no longer stand for parliament for five years from the moment his sentence has been served.
Zuma was president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018, but resigned under a cloud of corruption allegations. He returned to politics last year with a new party and was fiercely critical of the ruling African National Congress party he once led.
The election is expected to be the toughest test for the ANC, which has been in government for 30 years since the end of the white minority apartheid system. The ruling party is at risk of losing its majority for the first time, which would likely force Africa’s most advanced economy into a national coalition government for the first time.
Zuma’s new MK party is expected to erode some of the ANC’s votes due to the former leader’s popularity in some parts of the country (62 million). Zuma was also set to make a controversial return to parliament, six years after he was forced to resign as president by the ANC he led over allegations that widespread government fraud occurred during his time in office.
Zuma has also been accused of corruption in a separate case and is expected to appear in court in April. He has pleaded not guilty.
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