South Africa's highest court rules constitution bars ex-president from running for parliament due to prison sentence

By Rafieka Williams & Farouk Chothia, 22 May
Former president Jacob Zuma of South Africa (photo credit: GovernmentZA via flickr)
Former president Jacob Zuma of South Africa (photo credit: GovernmentZA via flickr)
South Africa's highest court has barred former President Jacob Zuma from running for parliament in next week's general election. The Constitutional Court ruled that his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court disqualified him. Mr Zuma was convicted in 2021 for refusing to testify at an inquiry investigating corruption during his presidency which ended in 2018. He has been campaigning under the banner of the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party after falling out with the governing African National Congress (ANC). [ . . . ] South Africans vote for political parties, with the candidates at the top of their lists getting parliamentary seats depending on the number of votes the party gets. The electoral commission said Mr Zuma's name would now be removed from MK's list of parliamentary candidates, while confirming that his image would remain on ballot papers, alongside his party's logo.
Read the full article here: BBC

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