South Africa's electoral commission has upheld objections to former president Jacob Zuma's candidacy for the May general election, commission chairman Mosotho Moepya said at a briefing.
"In the case of former president Zuma, yes, we did receive an objection, which has been upheld," Moepya said.
He added that the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which nominated Zuma, had been informed of the decision.
Zuma's ineligibility is due to a constitutional provision that says a person sentenced to 12 months or more in prison cannot be elected for 5 years.
The former president was sentenced to 15 months in prison in June 2021, after refusing to testify before a commission investigating financial corruption and nepotism during his presidency. He began serving his sentence in July 2021, but was released on parole two months later on medical grounds.
Last August, Zuma was pardoned almost immediately after his return to prison. The action was prompted by a special pardon program announced by the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa, which released 9,499 prisoners, including Zuma, in an effort to reduce the prison population.
In December 2023, the former president said he would support the Umkhonto We Sizwe party, named after the former paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) during the apartheid struggle, in the upcoming elections.
The former president's membership in the ANC, which he led until February 2018, was subsequently suspended, and in early March the MK party announced that Zuma would be its presidential candidate in the election.
South Africa's general elections are to be held on May 29, when citizens will vote for a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures.