Jacob Zuma Challenges ANC and Constitutional Court Ahead of Election

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has denounced the country’s top court and his previous allies in the ruling African National Congress for disqualifying him from the upcoming election. Zuma declared in a social media video released six days ahead of the critical national vote that he would persist in his campaign against the ANC, the party he once helmed, now with his new political faction. Despite being prohibited from standing as a candidate for a parliamentary comeback due to his disqualification, which arose six years after he resigned as president amidst corruption accusations.

The Constitutional Court ruled out Zuma based on a constitutional clause stating that individuals who received a prison term exceeding 12 months without a fine option could not contest parliamentary seats until five years post the completion of their sentence. Zuma had been handed a 15-month jail term in 2021 for contempt by the very same court, following his refusal to testify in a corruption probe.

Painting himself as a casualty of an unjust legal apparatus, Zuma urged South Africans to unite in rectifying the nation’s injustices. Yet, his censure of the top court might unsettle many citizens deeply attached to their constitution, a document that safeguarded freedom and rights for all racial groups following the end of apartheid’s enforced segregation.

The emergence of Zuma’s new entity, the MK Party, rattled South African politics at a time when the ANC was particularly susceptible. Observers anticipate Zuma’s party to further chip away at the ANC’s waning support, dealing yet another blow to its bid to retain its majority. These developments have heightened tensions surrounding an election already deemed the nation’s most pivotal in three decades.