The Electoral Court has now officially ruled to uphold the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s registration of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has been at the centre of all kinds of drama prior to the 2024 general elections, but it can now officially continue its run as a registered party.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s road to registration
The drama contained within the build up to the much-anticipated 2024 South African general election has been nothing short of a real-life telenovela.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in particular, has been at the centre of speculation, vicious debates, and even a handful of legal battles in the last few months.
Eyebrows first started raising when this party registered to contest the election, between 29 June 2023 and 18 September 2023.
Unlike most parties entering this arena for the first time, the MK Party chose to keep things rather low-key.
In fact, until the candidate lists (which comprise of a whopping 9,000 candidates) were submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), there were many debates about who the party would put forward as their candidates.
And now that The Electoral Court has dismissed the African National Congress’s (ANC) application to de-register the MK Party – it can now officially forge ahead as a registered party.
Why the ANC’s application was dismissed
The complexities around who is allowed to vote in and be a member of the National Assembly are outlined in Section 47 of Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
The MK Party challenged the interpretation of section 47(1)(e), by arguing that former president Jacob Zuma only spent three months in prison before the remission of his sentence and could not be disqualified from the parliamentary list.
The other legal dispute between the ANC and MK Party
While this most recent ruling has already been hotly debated throughout the country, the MK Party and the ANC will be heading back to court very soon, to face their next legal battle over the use of emblems and logos.
In this case, the ANC is contending the MK Party’s use of uMkhonto weSizwe logo and emblem since it is so closely associated with the ANC’s apartheid armed wing.
What this means for the 2024 general election
Experts have already warned the public that the 2024 general election is well-primed to be one of the most confusing and unusual elections that the country has ever seen.
Moreover, the continued spats between the ANC and the MK Party will only add to this relative chaos.
The media attention around this case will no-doubt fuel the MK Party’s political fire and should certainly make for quite an interesting show-down in the polls.
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