Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s attempted political resurrection has hit a major roadblock ahead of what is gearing up to be the country’s most bitterly contested elections since the end of white minority rule nearly three decades ago.
The nation’s electoral commission has barred the controversial and legally embattled Zuma from standing as a candidate in the crunch May 29 polls.
The ruling upholds objections citing Zuma’s 2021 jailing for 15 months after being found guilty of contempt of court for defying anti-corruption investigators.
Zuma has been campaigning for the recently formed uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK) (Spear of the Nation) party in an attempt to relaunch his career, after he was previously jailed for contempt of court in 2021.
“In the case of former President Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld,” electoral commission President Mosotho Moepya told reporters on Thursday, without giving details.
“The party that has nominated him has been informed” as have those objecting to the move, he said.
Under South African law, anyone sentenced to more than a year in prison without the option of a fine is ineligible to run for elected office.
Zuma’s scandal-plagued presidency came to an ignominious end in 2018 amid swirling allegations of graft and cronyism, paving the way for Cyril Ramaphosa to assume the nation’s highest office.
His fall from grace took a judicial turn when he received a 15-month prison sentence in June 2021 for defying an investigative panel’s efforts to probe corruption during his tenure. His incarceration sparked nationwide unrest, protests, riots and looting that left over 350 people dead in the ensuing violence.
While Zuma was controversially released on medical parole just two months into his sentence, , an appeals court later ruled his early release was unlawful and ordered him re-incarcerated.
He ultimately avoided returning to jail thanks to a remission approved by incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.
With Zuma now blocked from the ballot, his aspirations to regain political prominence by leading the recently formed “Umkhonto weSizwe” or “Spear of the Nation” party appear dashed.
The ex-leader had been campaigning actively for the new party in an overt bid to undermine his former allies in the historically dominant African National Congress (ANC).
The ANC, once led by Nelson Mandela, is confronting its biggest electoral threat since taking power in 1994’s post-apartheid transition.
Long accused of corruption and economic mismanagement, particularly during Zuma’s tenure from 2009-2018, recent polls suggest the ANC could drop below 50% of the vote for the first time. That would likely force the party to form a coalition government.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) is polling around 27%, while Zuma’s upstart Umkhonto weSizwe party has been projected to capture around 13% of ballots according to some surveys. His barring could impact those numbers.
Electoral commission chief Mosotho Moepya said Zuma’s party has been notified of the ruling and can appeal before April 2nd. A spokesperson vowed to do so, underscoring how the 81-year-old Zuma, currently on trial for additional corruption charges linked to a 1990s arms deal, retains a degree of political clout and refuses to fade away quietly.
With its former liberation movement mantle increasingly tarnished, the ANC is heading into the most open and unpredictable election cycle in post-apartheid South Africa. And Zuma, whose tumultuous presidency embodied the party’s descent into scandal and graft, will be forced to watch the watershed event from the sidelines after being ruled ineligible.
