Cape Town – The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) maintains that the Electoral Court’s ruling on former president Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to run for office infringes on the separation of powers, a report said on Tuesday.
In its written arguments presented to the Constitutional Court, CASAC argued that the court gave undue authority to the Parole Board to overturn the legal consequences of a conviction and sentence, rather than solely to the president, EWN reported.
CASAC, alongside Corruption Watch and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, have been granted amicus curiae status in the case between the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
The IEC sought clarification from the Constitutional Court after the Electoral Court overturned an objection to Zuma’s candidacy for the National Assembly.
CASAC argued that the Electoral Court misjudged by allowing a remission to diminish a court-imposed sentence.
The IEC expressed concerns about potential electoral disputes if Zuma participated, while the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation criticised Zuma as a constitutional violator unfit for parliamentary service.
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hear the case on Friday.
Meanwhile, according to Times Live, Jabulani Khumalo, founder of the MK Party, has urged the IEC to remove Zuma from the party’s leadership and parliamentary candidate list.
Khumalo accused Zuma of fraudulently assuming positions within the party and breaching its constitution, the report said.
“In these circumstances I request urgently that the Electoral Commission should remove Mr Zuma’s name as the ‘face’ of MKP.
“He should also be immediately removed as the president of the MKP. He occupies both positions through fraudulent and illegal manoeuvres,” the report quoted Khumalo as saying in the letter.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@Undlunkulu_Xoli
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
