South Africa: Electoral Court Allows Former President Jacob Zuma to Run for Office
The political dominance of the African National Congress party is under threat
In South Africa, a special “Electoral Court” on Tuesday, April 9, overturned a controversial decision made a month ago by the State Electoral Commission and allowed former South African President Jacob Zuma to get nominated as a candidate in the general election under the next May 29 program.
The Electoral Commission removed Zuma from the list of candidates for South Africa’s next president, citing his 15-month prison sentence for “contempt of court in connection with a corruption investigation.” The electoral court decision represents a very important victory for Zuma, the leader of the new political party Umkhonto we Sizwe-MK (Spear of the Nation), which takes its name from the former paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) currently in power, founded by Nelson Mandela. The MK party has rapidly gained popularity among South African voters in recent months and poses a serious threat to the dominant political force, the ANC party.
Zuma, who resigned in 2018 after a series of corruption scandals and was later found guilty of contempt of court, sharply criticized his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of failing to tackle South Africa’s biggest challenges, including its energy crisis.
The MK Party, formed in early 2023, rose to the top of the polls last December when Zuma twice said he would support it over the ANC, the party that made him South Africa’s longtime president.
South African voters will be called to the polls on May 29 in an election that many see as “decisive” for the ANC, the party that has been in power for 30 years, since the first post-apartheid elections. All these years, the ANC party has been regarded as “the political force that liberated South Africa from apartheid.” The ANC has recently lost electoral support: according to opinion polls, the May 29 elections could see the ANC win less than 50% of the vote for the first time. If the ANC fails to win a majority, opposition parties could form a coalition to topple the African National Congress and return Jacob Zuma to power in South Africa.