South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma is ineligible to run for a National Assembly seat in upcoming elections. This decision stems from his 2021 jail sentence for contempt during a corruption inquiry. Despite a previous overturning by the Electoral Court, Zuma's conviction disqualifies him under South African law.
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has prohibited former President Jacob Zuma from running for a National Assembly seat in the upcoming elections.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2021 for contempt after refusing to testify in a corruption investigation during his presidency from 2009 to 2018.
Although he served only two months, his conviction disqualifies him from running for office under South African law.
Despite a prior overturning of this disqualification by the Electoral Court, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, allowing the Independent Electoral Commission to proceed with election preparations.
Zuma, recently leading the opposition party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), now faces electoral exclusion.