Electoral Court to hear Khumalo’s urgent application against IEC

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The Electoral Court will hear Jabulani Khumalo’s urgent application against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) next Monday. Khumalo, the founder of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), was expelled earlier this year.

Khumalo is asking the court to declare the IEC’s decision to remove him as the leader of the MK Party and instead record former President Jacob Zuma as the party leader invalid, unlawful, and to set it aside.

This court challenge takes place while preliminary results show the MK party making significant gains in KwaZulu-Natal, leading the province at 45% with 36 % of the voting districts counted. The party has also surpassed the EFF on the national ballot, with 51% of the voting districts counted and the MK party currently at 10.77%.

Khumalo is asking the court to declare him as the President of the MK party with immediate effect. In his court papers, Khumalo argues that the Commission acted outside the scope of the Electoral Commission Act when it recorded Zuma as the President of the new political organisation.

Khumalo also alleges that Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, forged his signature on a document submitted to the IEC to create the impression that he was stepping down and that Zuma would be his replacement.

The court’s decision will impact the leadership of the MK party.

2024 Elections | ‘I’m still MK party leader’: Jabulani Khumalo