On Wednesday, 8 May, three political parties are seeking urgent intervention, claiming that technical faults and “hanging” in the online registration system of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) barred them from registering on time.
Parties that say they were left out of the registration process argue that a delay in the election would be in the interest of justice. And then there’s Zuma’s disputed candidacy.
A fourth case was submitted by the Defenders of The People party on the same issue, but the court is yet to provide directions on how it will be handled.The Constitutional Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, will hear two cases next week that might have an impact on the 29 May elections. One of them could result in the election date being postponed.
Janse van Rensburg said the party, along with several other unrepresented parties, had “great difficulty” using the portal because it would either “hang” or kick out those trying to save information. The parties had taken the issue to the Electoral Court, sitting in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. The IEC opposed the applications, arguing that the parties were “the authors of their own misfortune”.
Pappie Mokoena, who leads the Afrikan Alliance of Social Democrats, at the election of a new mayor for the Mangaung metro on 14 April 2023 in Bloemfontein. The case has the potential to affect the 29 May election date if the ConCourt agrees with the parties that the IEC’s initial timetable was unfair and sets it aside.
Sennye Mkhabela, the ACT’s treasurer-general, made a similar argument to that of Janse van Rensburg, saying the parties should be afforded a few hours of limited access to the portal to allow them to upload the remaining documents. Political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast agreed that the court would have to consider the concerns raised about the level of training offered by the IEC, along with the time provided for parties to get to grips with the system.
Jacob Zuma during the high court case on 27 March in Durban, in which the ANC argued that the MK party had infringed on its trademarks. Meanwhile, on 10 May, the ConCourt will hear the appeal by the IEC against the Electoral Court’s decision to allow former president Jacob Zuma to stand as a candidate for the uMkhonto Wesizwe party, considering he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court for refusing to appear before the State Capture Commission in 2021.
It adds that “no one may be regarded as having been sentenced until an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been determined, or until the time for an appeal has expired. A disqualification under this paragraph ends five years after the sentence has been completed.”
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