In South Africa, Jacob Zuma banned from participating in legislative elections
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It’s a setback he no doubt saw coming. As a candidate in the legislative elections scheduled for May 29, former South African president Jacob Zuma has been banned from taking part in the ballot because of his criminal record, the Electoral Commission announced on Thursday, March 28. The institution upheld the objection lodged against him by one of his rival parties.
Objections were lodged against eight candidates running for parliamentary seats. The candidacy of the former president was the only one to be rejected. “In the case of “Jacob” Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld,” said Mosotho Moepya, the president of the Electoral Commission at a press conference.
The decision comes as no surprise. Ever since the former president’s name appeared on the list of parliamentary candidates for the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, observers had been casting doubt on the validity of his candidacy, pointing out that under the South African Constitution, no person sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment, without the possibility of a fine, is allowed to hold public office. Zuma, meanwhile, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for contempt in 2021, after refusing to testify before a commission of inquiry into the systematic corruption that marked his term of office. The Electoral Commission issued a unanimous opinion on the disqualification of the former president, stating that his decision was “nothing personal.”
A litany of scandals
“It is a provision of the law against which we must measure an objection and it’s straightforward. It is whether the person qualifies or does not qualify”, said the president of the Electoral Commission, anticipating criticism from the camp of the former head of state , who has not ceased to condemn a cabal against him since his disgrace.
President from 2009 to 2018, Zuma was forced to resign by his party, the African National Congress (ANC), at the end of a long litany of scandals. Sifting through the “nine wasted years” of his mandate, a sprawling commission of inquiry determined that he had played a central role in the looting of state-owned companies that marked his presidency.
At 81, many thought his public career was over. Particularly as he is also under investigation for corruption in an arms deal in which the South African subsidiary of French arms giant Thalès is also being prosecuted. But that wasn’t in his nature. At the end of 2023, he made a stunning return to the political scene, casting a shadow over the electoral horizon of his former ANC brothers-in-arms.
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