MK Party logo battle: ANC says criticism of KZN High Court misplaced
This came after the former majority party approached the superior court seeking to halt the MK Party from the continued use of the name and logo of its former armed wing.
Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) has labelled the criticism of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban as misplaced after it found in 2024 that the party should have applied for a review to the Electoral Court.
This came after the former majority party approached the superior court seeking to halt the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party from the continued use of the name and logo of its former armed wing.
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The ANC argued that the now one-year-old party infringed its rights in terms of the Trade Marks Act and sought to confuse voters at the May 2024 polls into believing there was a connection between the new political party and the over 100-year-old organisation.
After the MK Party successfully applied for registration, the ANC objected to the registration with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
However, after the electoral body dismissed the appeal, the ANC sought relief with the KwaZulu-Natal High Court.
Section 20 of the Electoral Commission Act places the jurisdiction to review a decision taken by the IEC with the Electoral Court, which is the stance emphasised by Judge Mahendra Chetty of the High Court.
But the ANC submits that this is a matter concerning trademark rights and passing off and not electoral matters, adding that just because it laid its objection in the wrong platform, this does not prevent the correct forum – that is, the High Court – from entertaining the matter.
Thus, it submits that the jurisdiction objection fails, and the electoral bodies had no jurisdiction to determine whether the MK Party's name and symbol infringed the trademark and common law rights of the ANC.