Zuma's lawyers say IEC can't bar him from running for office

JOHANNESBURG - Lawyers for former president Jacob Zuma said that it is not for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to bar him from running for office in the upcoming elections.

Zuma and his new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party squared off against the IEC in the Constitutional Court on Friday.

This is over a ruling from the Electoral Court giving the former president the greenlight to run for Parliament in the upcoming elections.

The ruling was made after the IEC disqualified him on the basis of his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court and the IEC’s now challenging it.

Advocate Dali Mpofu for Zuma and the MK party said that the IEC overstepped.

"The power to stand in an election is in the full province of the IEC. It's clear from section 31 A. But the power to qualify or disqualify someone if elected to hold office has got absolutely nothing to do with it. That secondary power, which only arises if you're elected, is in the province of the National Assembly."