South Africa's Electoral Court is expected to rule on Tuesday on the eligibility of former South African president Jacob Zuma to run in the country's May elections, local media reported.
In late March, South Africa's electoral commission upheld objections to former president Jacob Zuma's candidacy for the May general election, citing a constitutional provision that says a person sentenced to 12 months or more in prison cannot be elected for 5 years.
However, the MK party has filed a petition against his exclusion from the election race, arguing that Zuma served only three months of the 15 months he was supposed to serve before he was pardoned by President Cyril Ramaphosa's decree.
Lawyers for the Electoral Commission argued that the presidential pardon granted to Zuma, which reduces his time in prison, does not overturn his conviction.
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.
In November 2022, the South African Court of Appeal ruled that the release was illegal and ordered Zuma to return to prison.
Last August, the former president was pardoned almost immediately upon his return to prison under a special pardon program announced by the South African government, 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. The party declared Zuma its presidential candidate in early March.
South Africa's general elections are to be held on May 29, when citizens will vote for a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
Supporters of the MK party warned that protests and disruptions of the vote would follow if its candidates were not allowed to run. South Africa's presidency urged citizens not to give in to attempts to destabilize the elections, warning that those who threaten the stability of the elections will face legal consequences.