Zuma says no to being an ANC MP

Former president Jacob Zuma will be turning down a nomination for him to become a member of parliament (MP) following the 2019 elections, The Sowetan reports.

The Citizen reported in December last year that defiant Jacob Zuma supporters had nominated him for a parliamentary seat.

According to The Sowetan, ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule informed attendees of the ANC special national executive committee meeting this past weekend that Zuma would not be accepting the nomination.

Zuma reportedly had the same position on the ANC elections list as Phatekile Holomisa, who is currently deputy minister of labour and his name was removed and replaced with Holomisa’s at the meeting.

It was reported in early January that the ANC had reiterated a commitment to clean politics, but declined to rule Zuma out as an MP.

READ MORE: Zuma will lose presidential benefits if he accepts MP nomination

Any candidate MP “must have no history of ill-discipline or corruption… must have no history of involvement in fostering divisions and conflict,” spokesperson Dakota Legoete told a press conference.

Asked if these criteria excluded the former president, he said only: “There is still a stage where every candidate will have to accept or decline” nomination by party members.

“We don’t have to undermine this process,” said Legoete. “We will hear from him, comrade Zuma (and others) if they accept or decline.”

It was reported that if he did accept, Zuma would have had to give up his retirement presidential perks.

READ MORE: ANC has not ruled out choosing Zuma as MP

By nominating Zuma, the structures were seen as snubbing President Cyril Ramaphosa and the entire Nasrec leadership that defeated the Zuma camp by a small majority. This was also interpreted as a sign that some members did not accept the Nasrec outcome, nor Ramaphosa’s call for unity within the party. Should Zuma choose to accept the nomination, he would forfeit the benefits that he currently enjoys as a former president, including an annual salary of nearly R3 million and security apparatus provided to him by the state.

Also, if he became an ordinary MP, he would have to comply to parliamentary rules that include declaring his assets and financial interests. According to two sources, the Free State is among the provinces that had Zuma’s name on their lists. The sources said the province sold Zuma’s name to party structures prior to holding its provincial list conference on December 10. The province has yet to release its parliamentary and provincial legislature lists.

Constitutional expert Shadrack Gutto, professor at the Institute for African Renaissance at Unisa, has warned the ANC against allowing Zuma to return to parliament, as the party would be “digging a hole for itself towards the 2019 elections as Zuma is facing serious criminal charges, including corruption and money laundering”.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman. Background reporting by Eric Naki and AFP)

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