MK Party leader Jacob Zuma is expected to give the party a directive on the next steps on who will stand as its number one candidate, after the Constitutional Court found he is not eligible to be a member of the National Assembly.
With Zuma out, Sophonia Tsekedi, 64, now tops the MKP list that was submitted to the IEC. Speaking to the media outside court on Monday, MKP secretary-general Sihle Ngubane said Zuma was still in charge and would give the party a directive.
An MKP member in the KZN Midlands said two names have already been bandied about in the party and they are experienced public servants.
The fallout from the Concourt judgment has also raised questions as to whether the MKP – should it have representation in Parliament – would have the same stature without Zuma.
Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said Zuma was unperturbed by the Constitutional Court judgment or any leadership “vacancies” – his focus was on winning the election.
Political analysts said the Concourt decision is unlikely to affect the party.
University of KwaZulu-Natal politics lecturer, Siyabonga Ntombela, said: “Zuma once said the NEC of the MKP will not move into parliamentary positions, they will not be elevated into positions of power in government and they will remain in the party offices.”
He said Zuma would still influence the party policies: “It will continue to be business as usual and it will not have an adverse impact, provided they have people who are vocal and will articulate the position of the party.”
Ntombela said the person who emerges as leader is someone who must have Zuma’s trust. “Zuma will not trust anyone outside the MKP, it will be someone close to his family. Duduzile has always been there, it makes sense that she ascends to power,” Ntombela said, in reference to Zuma’s daughter, at number 18 on the party’s candidate list.
“Other leaders who are also eyeing the position might be disgruntled and feel that this is Zuma and his family’s thing,” he said, adding that the temporary leadership structures of the party lend themselves to Duduzile emerging as a leader with little resistance.
Another analyst, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, said Duduzile’s ascendancy “should not ruffle any feathers” if it happens.
The Mercury