Zuma vs IEC: A battle of constitutional democracy

INDEPENDENT political analysts and activists have said the recent court battle between former president Jacob Zuma, the ANC and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) required the intervention of the constitutional democracy.

Last month, the IEC asked the Constitutional Court whether former Zuma should remain on the list of candidates vying for seats in Parliament, citing risks of a disputed electoral outcome if he was allowed to stand.

This followed the electoral court ruling in favour of Zuma when the matter was brought before it, after the IEC had rejected his inclusion in the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s (MKP) national list.

The electoral commission had argued that it opposed Zuma’s name based on his now much-debated conviction and jailing by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court in 2021, after he asked for Chief Justice Raymond Zondo be removed as chair of the State Capture Commission because he felt the chief justice was conflicted.

Reflecting on the matter, independent political analyst and senior lecturer at the University of Limpopo Dr Metji Makgoba said the court battle between Zuma and the IEC was tricky and required the intervention of the constitutional democracy.

“From a distance, it might look like the IEC is trying to prevent Zuma from making a re-entry into politics because when the Concourt sentenced Zuma, it was presumed that it was the end of his political career because the sentence couldn’t be appealed.

“The electoral court has explained and clarified why Zuma cannot be prevented from returning to Parliament. I don’t think there’s bias against the former president by the IEC. There has been a grey area and it becomes a process of constitutional democracy to clarify this so that in the future, such matters are best tackled,” said Makgoba.

Weighing in on reports suggesting that the ruling party, which has publicly rejected the formation of the MKP, was using state organs to oppose Zuma, former Fees Must Fall and youth activist Mcebo Dlamini said the abuse of state resources by some individuals could not be ruled out.

“Some believe the judiciary is being used to fight political battles. This accusation is not new. There have been in the past, several scholars, journalists and politicians who have expressed that the South African judiciary is not as unbiased as it ought to be. Can one really blame this view?

“The formation of MKP will, undoubtedly, affect the numbers of the ANC, mainly because the candidate in question is the former president of the ANC and the country - not just any president, but a president who enjoys support from a large constituency. With the ANC being notorious for corruption one would not be mad if they accused the ANC of meddling with the independence of the IEC. It would not be out of character for the ANC.”

Dlamini said that if the ANC was attempting to do that, then it meant that it felt threatened.

“They are threatened. How can they be not? You see it in how they have intensified their campaign, how they have called upon all the elders to partake in the campaign. How can they not when their opposition comes from people who were at the centre and helm of the ANC, people who know the ‘soul’ of the organisation?”

Dlamini said the ANC had failed and the party was collapsing from the inside, adding the country was alive with possibilities, including blatant corruption and he hoped that the IEC was not involved in unscrupulous dealings.

Fees Must Fall activist and PhD student at the University of Pretoria Mbhe Mbhele said it was no coincidence that there was so much interest because the candidate in question was Zuma.

“One need not think far back to know the political power that he wields; remember the unrest after his arrest? This is the same man who became president of the whole country amid charges of rape and corruption.

“In this situation, it therefore makes sense for one (at face value) to assume that these legal battles may just be to delay the campaign, the unity and the direction of the MK Party. One also must remember that a new political party such as MKP is vulnerable to distraction.

“Despite all of this, one cannot hold this assumption as the ultimate truth, because the reality of the matter is that it does raise fundamental constitutional issues with particular regard to the interpretation of the Constitution,” said Mbhele.

The ANC and the MKP have been at loggerheads since the former leader of the ANC announced that he would campaign for the MKP against his former party in the elections.

thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za