ANC vs MK: Proceedings wrap up, Electoral Court reserves judgment

BLOEMFONTEIN - The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s future now rests in the hands of the Electoral Court, as proceedings have wrapped up in the case the African National Congress (ANC) has brought against MK, as well as the IEC, challenging its registration as a political party.

Judgment has now been reserved following a long day in court, with arguments spanning close to six hours.

The ANC’s challenge is grounded in its position that due process wasn’t followed.

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On its version, MK "unlawfully" supplemented a defective application it had lodged after the application was rejected, instead of lodging a new one. 

Both the IEC and MK maintain there’s nothing barring this, though.

What’s emerged as a key question in Tuesday’s proceedings, however, is whether the Electoral Court, which is sitting in the Supreme Court of Appeal, can even rule on this matter.

The legislation provides for an internal appeals process.

And while the ANC did previously, and unsuccessfully, try to challenge MK’s registration through that internal process, that attempt was based on different grounds to this one.

Judge Lebogang Modiba honed in on this while advocate Sesi Baloyi, for the ANC, was making her closing submissions on Tuesday afternoon.

"The act makes provision for an internal dispute resolution mechanism and you are inviting us to give an order that undermines that internal dispute resolution mechanism. I understand your difficulties but I don’t see how you overcome this hurdle."

What the court will find, though, remains to be seen.