The Constitutional Court has dismissed the uMkhonto weSizwe’s urgent application to halt the National Assembly’s first sitting in Cape Town on Friday.
The former president Jacob Zuma-led MK Party filed an application on Monday in an effort to interdict the sitting and swearing-in of MPs.
The interdict was to draw attention to the party’s concerns over alleged election fraud, which the party says should be resolved before the National Assembly’s sitting.
The party also threatened that its members would not attend the sitting under the impression that their absence would invalidate the election of the president and the speaker of parliament.
The court ruled that it was not the rightful jurisdiction to address the matter, nor is it in the interest of justice to grant direct access as the matter arose between June 1 and 2, to the knowledge of MK Party, as the applicant.
Urgency created by the MK Party
The court pointed out that the MK Party had created the urgency of the matter as it failed to give reasons for its late application.
Reads the court ruling: “Furthermore, the application must fail on its merits. The applicant has not made out a case for the granting of an interim interdict, as it has neither shown that it will suffer irreparable harm if the interdict is not granted nor that the balance of convenience favours the granting of the interdict.
“In addition, the applicant has not adduced facts to establish a prima-facie case in respect of the relief it will seek in the main application in order to sustain an interim interdict pending the main application.”
Sibusiso Mapossa, the registrar of ConCourt, also stated in the ruling that even if the MK Party could have complied with all requirements, it would still not be successful because this would have an impact on other parties.
