Illustrative image | Former South African president Jacob Zuma. (Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee / AFP | Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi) 
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All parties contesting the general elections in South Africa in May 2024 were required to submit a list of their party candidates to the Electoral Commission by Friday, 8 March 2024.
It has been reported that the MK Party’s number-one candidate on its list is former president Jacob Zuma.
But a lot of people are asking: Is this actually legally permissible, given that Zuma has a criminal record?
The issue was raised with the IEC in January 2024, just a few weeks after the MK Party was formed. On that occasion, the IEC told Durban newspaper the Daily News unequivocally that Zuma could not stand for election.
Read more in Daily Maverick: MK party ‘will go to court’ if IEC bars Zuma from contesting elections
The commission explained that this was on the basis of Section 47 of the Constitution, which stipulates that you cannot be elected to Parliament if you have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to 12 months or more in prison. You only become eligible again five years after the end of the sentence.
Zuma’s failure to cooperate with the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture earned him a contempt of court conviction in July 2021, and he was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
The fact that Zuma ended up serving fewer than two months behind bars is irrelevant. It is the sentence length that counts.
Five years after the end of Zuma’s sentence would take him to October 2027 as the earliest date at which he could stand for election.
As a result, the IEC told the Daily News in January: “Therefore, this provision renders former president JG Zuma disqualified to be on the list of any party contesting an election.”
Fast forward two months, however, and the MK Party has seemingly ignored this prohibition and led its party list with Zuma – unsurprisingly, since he is by far the biggest and most popular name in the party.
So, what happens now?
The IEC is now vetting all the candidates on party lists.
The commission has said candidates still have until 20 March 2024 to submit necessary documentation, including “a declaration by a candidate that they are not disqualified from standing for election”.
It is unclear how Zuma intends to overcome this hurdle, given his criminal record.
Then, on 26 and 27 March, the IEC will open the lists of candidates for inspection and people can raise objections to the candidacy of nominated individuals. A candidate who is ruled out of contesting the elections can then appeal to the Electoral Court.
In the past, the IEC has upheld objections to candidates with criminal records and barred them from appearing on party lists.
In short, the law seems perfectly clear on this: Zuma cannot legally head the MK Party list because he cannot stand for election to the National Assembly.
What is likely brewing, however, is a big headache for the IEC.
The MK Party has made threats of violence against the IEC if Zuma is not permitted to stand.
The party’s other big idea is that if it wins a two-thirds majority in the election, it will change the Constitution to allow Zuma to become South Africa’s president for a third term.
We have previously dealt with this: There is no chance that the MK Party, or any other party, will win a two-thirds majority in this election.
There is also little doubt that Zuma is its only major political asset – so the prospect of contesting the elections without Zuma as a candidate is something the MK Party is undoubtedly going to push back on.
But the IEC simply has to apply the law – to Zuma as to every other prospective candidate. DM