‘We can reject our parliament seats’: Zuma says as MKP wants election results legal contest
Party has repeatedly attacked the IEC after it barred the former president from taking part in the polls because of his criminal conviction
Image: Freddy Mavunda
The MK Party’s (MKP) persistent war against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) seems to be far from over as Jacob Zuma has threatened legal action against the commission to contest the 2024 election results.
Speaking outside the Johannesburg high court on Monday, Zuma said the party would open a case against the IEC because he believed it was “robbed of votes” despite the MKP breaking a record by attaining more than 2-million votes when contesting elections for the first time.
Zuma has demanded a rerun of last week's elections, making allegations they were not fair but he has not provided proof.
The former president said the party could reject its 58 parliamentary seats as a form of protest against the results.
“We warned them [IEC], and they did not listen. We might reject going to parliament. We do not want to go there [parliament] incomplete because we have been robbed,” Zuma claimed.
He said the party had “ information” to back its claims.
“There are things they have done that they do not know we know. We will open a case against them. They broke laws. We have the evidence.”
The MKP has repeatedly attacked the IEC after it barred Zuma from taking part in the elections because of his criminal conviction.
In 2021 Zuma was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court. The constitution prohibits anyone sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment without the option of a fine from becoming an MP.
In court papers the MKP said the commission had no business upholding constitutional provisions and blocking Zuma's nomination to stand for parliament due to the sentence.
The MKP's Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla vowed the party would treat the IEC like a “political party” after it took her father's matter to the Constitutional Court.
The apex court ruled Zuma was ineligible to stand for election.
Throughout the legal showdown the MKP targeted IEC commissioner Janet Love, accusing her of being biased, without evidence, towards the party. It blamed Love for its misfortunes. The ConCourt did not find Love to have been biased in Zuma’s case.
On the eve of special votes, MKP members published videos of voting material stored in Chesterville, KwaZulu-Natal and Hammarsdale, Mpumalanga, alleging stealing of votes. No voting took place at the time.
The IEC clarified the voting material seen in the viral videos was at the commission’s storage sites in Chesterville and Hammarsdale for special votes. It had to move the material after MKP members stormed the storage areas to record videos.
The commission said it was considering taking action against those who were involved in the saga.
Speaking at the election results announcement on Sunday, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said there were attempts during election season to undermine the credibility of the institution, but he assured South Africans that though there were challenges during the polls, the elections were free and fair.
He said: “Our journey was not without its challenges. It sometimes entailed concerted significant attacks on the members and key staff of the commission, attempts to undermine the credibility of this institution, relentless and targeted social media attacks, disinformation campaigns, unwarranted allegations, and sometimes, what appeared to be acts of intimidation.
“We remained steadfast in our constitutional mandate, rising above the distractions, to ensure the will of the people was accurately reflected in the results of these elections.”
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