Former ANC president Jacob Zuma is the face of the uMkhonto weSizwe party, formed on 16 December 2023. Image: @DZumaSambudla via X, formerly known as Twitter
Jacob Zuma WILL NOT be appearing on the ballot paper
Jacob Zuma’s recent 15 month jail sentence has rendered him ineligible to contest for office for Umkhonto Wesizwe until 2029.
Former ANC president Jacob Zuma is the face of the uMkhonto weSizwe party, formed on 16 December 2023. Image: @DZumaSambudla via X, formerly known as Twitter
Despite the numerous rallies and campaigns hosted since the launch of Umkhonto Wesizwe Party a month ago, former president Jacob Zuma will not be allowed to contest this years elections.
ZUMA BARRED FROM CONTESTING FOR OFFICE
This is due to Zuma being sentenced to 15months in jail for disregarding a summons to appear before the State Capture Commission.
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According to the Daily News, the Independent Electoral Commission has revealed that the former president is disqualified from appearing in the ballot list, citing Section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution. The Section pertains to individuals barred from contesting elections due to imprisonment.
It states:
‘Anyone who, after this section took effect, is convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine, either in the Republic, or outside the Republic if the conduct constituting the offence would have been an offence in the Republic, but no one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined, or until the time for an appeal has expired. A disqualification under this paragraph ends five years after the sentence has
been completed.’
In accordance to the Constitution, Zuma will only be eligible to contest for office in 2029 at the age of 89.
Zuma was released from prison in August 2023, having only served two months of his 15 month sentence before being released on a presidential pardon.
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Meanwhile the party has released its full list of interim provincial co-ordinators and conveners. According to the list, the party despite its stronghold and popularity in KwaZulu-Natal, has a presence in all nine provinces.
