Johnathan Paoli
The ANC has once again challenged the registrations of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party in the Electoral Court and said it was attempting to preserve the electoral system in the long run.
In papers submitted to the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, the ANC argued that there were procedural flaws in the way MK was registered by the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Mawethu Mosery.
The MK party, which is backed by former President Jacob Zuma, has responded by submitting in papers that its registration was lawful.
The MK hit the headlines in December last year when Zuma announced his support for the political newcomers, which led to his suspension from the ANC.
The IEC’s deputy chairperson, Janet Love, said in February that the commission can only proceed based on existing documentation and legislation.
“The issue of the name of the MK party and the identification is not an issue the commission is cited in. It’s a matter that is in the High Court, and it is not something, again, that we can control. It is something that is before that court,” Love said.
The governing party said it wanted the court to review and set aside the MK Party’s registration with the IEC and said the new formation didn’t follow due process during its plans to contest the 29 May elections.
In its papers, the ANC says after the MK party’s application for registration was initially rejected because it didn’t meet the prescribed requirements, it then unlawfully supplemented its application, instead of submitting a new one.
However, the IEC maintained this was all above board, as does the MK party, which expressed its confidence ahead of Tuesday’s case.
“We’re quite confident that the IEC has done its duty and followed their due process as per the act,” said spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.
Ndhlela said he believed in their victory and remained adamant that they will appear on the ballot for the upcoming elections.
Legal Analyst Reitumetsi Phiri said that one of the obstacles for the ANC was that it did not make proper use of the appeal mechanisms and the objection mechanisms in the Electoral Commission Act and failed to object to uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s application to be registered as a political party when it had the ability to do so.
Phiri said that when the ANC did eventually object, the objection was actually dismissed as being irregular.
“It also did not appeal the registration of uMkhonto weSizwe Party timeously when it should have done so and this is particularly problematic because in this way it could be argued that the ANC has actually given up its right to challenge the registration of uMkhonto weSizwe Party as a political party,” Phiri said.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said their case against the MK party was a matter of principle and said that it is an “important day” for the ANC who owed it to the fallen cadres of MK who were responsible for the freedoms South Africans enjoy today to defend this legacy, this asset of the party.
Expansive staging areas are being set up in and around the precinct where party officials will address crowds later, with a heavy police presence and a presidential security convoy being spotted in the vicinity, indicating Zuma might be making an appearance.
In addition, the ANC’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is also expected to be there.
The case has been brought on an urgent basis, and so the court should make its ruling relatively quickly.
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