An urgent application was undertaken by former President Jacob Zuma’s new political party, uMkhonto wesizwe (MK), to interdict the first sitting of Parliament following the national elections.
The sitting will take place on 14 June and South Africa’s apex court has issued a degree dismissing the aforementioned urgent application.
Also read: MK Party plans to stop the first sitting of Parliament
The primary objective of this first setting will be to swear in members of Parliament as well as elect a new president.
The MK party filed for an urgent application early Monday morning, in which they called for a halt to these proceedings.
This demand was the result of alleged foul-play involved in the results of the national election. The first respondent in the matter was the Chief Justice of South Africa, Raymond Zondo.
The court dismissed the application due to a lack of jurisdiction. The application for the interdict was submitted on June 10, 2024, several days after the conduct in question. This delay, without adequate justification, made the application seem unnecessarily urgent. Consequently, granting the application was not considered just.
Furthermore, the application failed on its merits. The political party did not demonstrate that it would suffer irreparable harm without the interdict or that the balance of convenience favoured granting it. Additionally, the applicant did not establish a prima facie case for the interim interdict pending the main application.
Thus, the court ruled that the applicant was not entitled to the requested relief. The application was dismissed, and the first sitting will proceed without interruption.
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