JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma was barred Monday from running for Parliament in next week’s national election over a previous criminal conviction, the latest twist in his return to politics.
The decision by the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, may still be appealed. It ruled that Zuma is only eligible to serve as a lawmaker five years after his 2021 sentence for contempt of court was completed.
Zuma is now the leader of a new party, uMkhonto weSizwe Party, and is campaigning against the long-ruling African National Congress he once led.
Analysts say the ANC, which has comfortably held power since Nelson Mandela became the country’s first Black president in 1994, might receive less than 50% of votes in next Wednesday’s election and lose its parliamentary majority.
That would be the ANC’s worst electoral performance since it came into power in South Africa at the end of apartheid.
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
Peng Liyuan Meets with Indonesian First Lady
China Focus: CPC Continues Self
Chinese People See off Comrade Jiang Zemin in Beijing
I was 'brokefished' by my friend for £400
China files over 1,000 new undergraduate education programs in 2023
China Focus: Chinese People Continue to Mourn Jiang Zemin
National Winter Games put incing on Olympic legacy
Mystery artist who erected signs comparing pothole
Xi Focus: A Look at How Xi Jinping Leads China's COVID
Candice Swanepoel stuns in a form
Funeral Committee Expresses Gratitude for Condolences over Jiang Zemin's Passing