South Africa top court hears case questioning Zuma’s electoral eligibility
Al Jazeera
Ex-president could be disqualified from running in the most competitive polls in post-apartheid history on May 29.
South Africa’s Constitutional Court will decide on an appeal questioning former President Jacob Zuma’s eligibility to run in this month’s election, a race that could tilt the balance of the parliament and determine the country’s next leader.
The court in Johannesburg is on Friday hearing the appeal filed by the country’s election body after a lower court ruled that Zuma could run for office.
Earlier, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), barred Zuma from contesting the May 29 polls.
Zuma, 82, is fronting a new opposition party that has become a potential disrupter in the general election.
While his party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), is not expected to win enough votes to return the former leader to the presidency, it could cut into the vote share of the dominant governing African National Congress (ANC) party, and determine who will be the country’s next leader.
