Ex-leader of South Africa Zuma disqualified from upcoming election

The previous president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, cannot run for a seat in Parliament in the upcoming election after he was convicted of a crime in the past. The highest court in the South Africa made a decision that will likely cause more arguments before an important vote in Africa’s most advanced economy. Former allies of Zuma are being challenged by his new political party.

The Constitutional Court decided that the rule in the constitution that stops people who have been given a prison sentence of more than 12 months from running for Parliament also applies to the 82-year-old former leader. Zuma was sent to jail for 15 months in 2021 because he didn’t want to answer questions at a trial about corruption in the government.

The court said that Zuma cannot be a lawmaker for five years after he finishes his sentence. They made this decision nine days before the May 29 election.

Zuma used to lead South Africa’s African National Congress party but was told to leave in 2017. He also quit as president in 2018 because people thought he was involved in corruption.

He came back to politics last year with a new party and started criticizing the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa again. Ramaphosa took over as the leader of the party and president after him.

Zuma’s new party said in a statement that they are not happy about the decision, but it has not made them feel discouraged. They also did not agree with the court’s decision and the judges who made it.

The upcoming election in South Africa is very important, possibly the most important in 30 years. The ANC, the ruling party since the end of apartheid in 1994, is facing a big challenge.

The ANC is having a hard time keeping its majority in parliament, and the election could make it form a government with other political parties. That would be the biggest change in the country’s politics since apartheid was ended and everyone was allowed to vote.

The court decision does not stop Zuma’s party, the MK Party, from participating in the election.

Zuma is on the party’s election posters and is the main person in its campaign. The group in charge of elections in South Africa said Zuma’s picture can stay on the party’s election clothing, but his name won’t be on the list of people they want to run for office.

In South Africa, people don’t choose their president directly. Instead, they vote for political parties. Those political groups will have seats in the government based on how many votes they received. Lawmakers choose the president based on which party has the most members. Since 1994, the ANC has always been in charge, but this time, if it doesn’t get more than 50% of the votes, it will need to work with other political parties to stay in power and reelect Ramaphosa for another term.

Zuma’s MK Party could take away more of the ANC’s votes and make it difficult for the ruling party to stay in power.

Zuma still has a lot of people who support him. The court’s decision has made things more tense politically, especially after some MK Party officials said they would not accept any decision that stops Zuma from running for office.

Ramaphosa told Radio 702 that he did not think the decision would make people angry, but he also said that if there was any chance of violence, the security forces are prepared.

Since 1994, South Africa has been having fair and peaceful elections.

Zuma was not allowed to run for Parliament at first. He won the case at the Electoral Court after challenging their decision. Monday’s decision changed the previous outcome and confirmed that he is disqualified.

Zuma led South Africa for almost 10 years from 2009-18, but he resigned because the ANC wanted him to. There were claims that the government was very corrupt. He was asked to speak at a formal investigation about the claims of corruption, but he said no. That caused him to be punished for disrespect.

The sentence showed that Zuma still has power in some areas of South Africa. This caused a week of stealing and fighting in two provinces. More than 350 people died, making it one of the worst times of violence in the country since the end of apartheid. Zuma got out of prison early because he was sick after only serving two months of his 15-month sentence.

Zuma has been accused of doing something wrong in a different case that is about things he did before he became president. He is supposed to go to court next April for those charges and has said he did not do it.