South Africa: Top court bars Zuma from election run

South Africa's constitutional court ruled on Monday that former President Jacob Zuma may not run in next week's general election.

The court upheld the electoral commission's decision that Zuma's conviction for contempt of court prevents him from being elected to parliament.

Why was Jacob Zuma convicted of contempt of court?

Zuma became president in 2009 and left office in 2018 amid corruption allegations.

He was given a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 over his refusal to provide testimony for investigations into corruption.

South Africa's constitution bars anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in jail from becoming a member of parliament.

Zuma ultimately spent less than three months in jail, but the constitutional court ruled that the remission of his sentence did not have any bearing on his eligibility for office.

"This court concludes that Mr Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment... and is accordingly not eligible to be a member of and not qualified to stand for election to the national assembly," Justice Leona Theron said.

The constitutional court's ruling overturns that of the electoral court, which said last month that Zuma was eligible to present his candidacy.

Polls show that Jacob Zuma's MK party could garner considerable support from the Zulu-speaking population concentrated in eastern South AfricaImage: MARCO LONGARI/AFP

Zuma challenges ruling ANC

Zuma fell out with the governing African National Congress (ANC) after he left office.

The former president has been campaigning for the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which is named after the ANC's former armed wing.

Polls suggest that the ANC could lose its absolute majority in parliament for the first time since South Africa began holding democratic elections after the end of apartheid in 1994,

The MK party is projected to garner support from former ANC voters, particularly in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

At a Saturday campaign event, Zuma drew a crowd of around 30,000 people at a stadium in Soweto.

In 2021, Zuma's imprisonment triggered riots in the eastern province. 300 people died in the unrest.

sdi/rc (AFP, Reuters)