ConCourt dismisses MK Party's application to halt first sitting of Parliament

JOHANNESBURG - The Constitutional Court said that the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party failed to provide any evidence that warranted the postponing of the National Assembly's first sitting.

On Wednesday night, the apex court dismissed the MK Party's urgent application seeking to interdict the first convening of the seventh Parliament.

The party claimed massive vote rigging and fraud took place in last month’s general elections, however, it has not produced any proof to support this.
 
The Constitutional Court said that the MK Party's claim of urgency was self-created, as the organisation waited nine days after the declaration of results to file its application.
 
It cited several failures on the part of the organisation, founded by former President Jacob Zuma, as part of its reasons for dismissing the application.
 
These include being unable to justify why the application had not been lodged sooner, not being able to explain how the MK Party would suffer irreparable harm if the apex court didn't rule in its favour and, most importantly, for failing to provide any prima facie evidence to support its case.
 
The court said the MK Party has misconstrued the provisions within the Constitution which it relied on when making its application.
 
The first sitting of Parliament is set to take place on Friday.