This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online:
What are the implications for the elections now that Zuma could be recharged?
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Have your say by leaving a comment below.
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online:
What are the implications for the elections now that Zuma could be recharged?
Read more
Have your say by leaving a comment below.
This affirms our view in a political conspiracy. i think Nicholson did not just get excited and decided to go overboard.
However, the NPA asked the Judge to scrap the political conspiracy in the arguments and both parties were given a chance to resolve this out of court. They however failed to reach consensus thus Nocholson decided to go into details.
on the issue of elections, this will give the ANC an ammunition when campaigning to consolidate its 3 thirds majority. i’m saying this because there is nothing substantial from our opposition. they just engage in the politics of scrutinizing the ANC forgeting that we want something tangible. others are just going to make a carbon copy of ANC POLICY. PLEASE WAIT AND SEE ON THIS ONE.
No implications at all! Zuma has mob-appeal and tells them what they want to hear. It’s party-time. The bubble will burst only after after the election when the promises turn sour. We haven’t arrived at the bottom of the rubbish bin yet to be ready for the final lift to a real democracy away from the present one-party dictatorship. A revolution means turning around a point which brought us back to nat-rule with even much more corruption and arrogance. Zimbabwe leads the way and is years ahead of us.
I think Frank has it nailed! Mob appeal rules!!
No Implications at all, because the organisation has groomed more cde to take leadership at all level when required by members and the President of the movement does not work in isolation, he work within the collective with a clear mendate to win this coming elections 100%.
We are on cause for total social transformation, economic redestribution through skillls transfer, taking the proper leadership in the economy and mendate has been given to the collective leadership during the last national congress to deliver the real liberation to the people of South Africa.
The ANC can not do, the previous mistake of popularising the non-existing organisation during this current strategic time of elections.We can not afford to waist even a single minutes responding to issues that are irrelevant our manifesto.
We always said the ANC is the only organisation with a plan to lead and other parties follows. This can be confirmed by the current debates by other parties which are critical to the manifesto released on the Jan 10,2009 at Eastern Cape Province. Where is their plan and even when we go to the organisational elections being branch or national congress the ANC does not elect leadership through negotiation in order to run away from contradictions, because we are aware that contradictions exist in every organisation even in the house of lord( CHURCH).
The ANC will always live and lead. Amandla
Nothing!
Zuma will never be charged.
An appeal to the Constitutional court will again delay charges being brought to bear before the April 2009 elections.
After that, it won’t matter.
The acting National director of public prosecutions, as a political appointee, can simply be ‘recalled’ and a Party functionary ‘deployed’ with a brief to make the charges effectively disappear…permanently.
Should the ANC retain it’s 2/3 majority, which is highly likely since the renewed promises of the manifesto will be seen as far more important than any threats to the independence of the judiciary, the NEC can simply move to render prosecution of a sitting president unconstitutional, which the ANC dominated assembly will then ‘rubber stamp’
End of story, and the beginning of the end of any remnants of democratic institutions of governance.
If the electorate cannot see the extreme danger at this 11th hour, nothing will make them see it.
Complaining that there is no viable alternative to the ANC while refusing to support the emergence of such alternatives is a circular ‘chicken and egg’ reasoning which is not going to help anyone once the dominant party has entrenched its power beyond the reach of a ‘free and fair’ electoral defeat.
Such things can and do happen in places where faith in The Party has occluded objective considerations as to where potentially dangerous policy may actually be leading.
No implications at all. Zuma will not set foot in a courtroom. Its hilarius to think that all along he’s been shouting at the top of his voice “let me have my day in court” and now that the day is imminent he’s playing delaying tactics.
He sure wont go to court and will be elected as president and then wont be prosecuted, and thats that.
the only implications are quite simply that my vote is even less likely to change.
This might not be the right forum but
Question fellow fighter;
Who else besides Zuma is there to lead the ANC?
Zuma and the ANC may succed in creating a generally corrupt Government.
The pending prosecution of Jacob Zuma will have a huge impact on the political landscape. Many people are beginning to question the morality of the ANC leadership seriously, particularly when they think about the kind of society we want to leave for our children and future generations. The fact that the ANC leadership can be so stubborn and pigheaded by insisting on Jacob Zuma being the face of the election campaign when he is surrounded by so much controversy shows the height of arrogance that the ANC leadership has reached. This illusion of invincibility and going as far as saying ‘the ANC will rule until Jesus returns’, reminds one of King Nebuchadnezar in the Bible, who was cast down after a long reign of arrogance and despotism.
Will people still vote for the ANC? The truth is that some, in fact many people will continue to vote for the ANC but definitely not in the large numbers they used to. Die-hard supporters of the ANC will continue to do so, but there are many people who voted for the ANC in the past, who are now asking themselves whether they should still vote for the party. Those are peace-loving, ordinary and decent South Africans who are no political ideologues. In public they are not prepared to say who they are going to vote for, particularly taking into account intimidation from the ANC around the country, where the ANC even goes as far as trying to block people from attending COPE meetings. But come election day they will have a moment to vent their frustrations in the ballot box.
So, no one should be deceived by the ANC’s bravado. There are many people who think like and sympathize with Mosioua Lekota, Mbazima Shilowa, Desmond Tutu, Barney Pityana, Gloria Serobe, Wendy Luhabe, Girly Pikoli and many others. These are votes that went to the ANC in the past but not anymore.
So, let no one deceive anyone by saying that the ANC is not in for a big shock. It should not be a case of saying, why did not we see this coming. The ANC has blundered big time. They recalled former president Thabo Mbeki based on lies and distortions a few months before his term of office ended. After the SCA ruling Mbeki has been vindicated, unless if one believes that he is guilty of a political conspiracy until proven otherwise. Most people can now see through the veil of lies, that has been sustaining the Jacob Zuma campaign. People are now beginning to sit back and ask whether they are prepared to be led by a man who has up to now avoided to clear his name, with the aim of ascending to the highest office in the land
CORRECTION…. Now that he remains charged?
There is no reason to charge him since the matter has been tainted by public opinion.There is nowhere in legal fratinity that a person be publicly “judged” then courts follow.
Indeed no impact at all. JZ will be president, JZ will not face charges and prove his innocence.
All the resources of the ANC and the state are being used to ensure this.
There are two scenarios:
1. The ANC withdraws his nomination, and Mothlante becomes the candidate. (Variants would be to put in one of the king-makers: Sexwale, Ramaphosa or Phosa. I have long suspected that that might have been part of there agenda all along.) In support of this scenario, we have astrologer Linda Shaw’s prediction for 2009 that Zuma will not make it to the presidency
2. He is retained, and the ANC continues its arguments used to date, namely:
—”Zuma is innocent until proven guilty”. This is a nonsensical claim. The legal dictum is that, /in law/ he is /deemed/ innocent until proven guilty. Question: If someone has a charge of paedophelia pending against him (i.e deemed innocent in law), would you allow him to look after your 5-year old child? Would you /deem/ him innocent?
—:”It is not possible for him to get a fair trial”. Again, this claim is not backed by evidence. The record to date is that rulings have gone in Zuma’s favour almost as often as they have gone against him.
—”There is a political conspiracy against him.” This may or may not be true. However, as the SCA pointed out, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the truth of the charges against him.
—:”He is democratically elected. Leave him alone.” I guess this argument has some merit. Zuma apparently appeals to simple folk. They see him as a “King”. A king/chief is expected to have many wives; women are expected to be honoured if he sleeps with them; he is expected to dance with the people; he is expected to take commission on things he does; he has no obligation to pay taxes; and he is supposed to use his influence to favour his people (Schaik) against competing interests. In their eyes, Zuma is not corrupt. He is behaving as a good King should.
It is incontrovertible that the ANC has become so assured of its own Mugabe-like survival that they consider themselves their own law, higher then the Constitutioon, higher than God.
Zuma WILL be next prez. The Constitution will be changed. He will escape prosecution. The ANC will ensure losing the next election is an impossibility. This will be spun as stability. Hardcore Stalinism will rise after 2010 (which will be a fraction of the success it should be). the Rand will plummet to R20/$, but that won’t matter because fewer people will have jobs and the two non-ANC provinces will have fight to keep out the millions chasing the illussion of prosperuty – which in turn will bring the spectre of civil war ever closer as in incompetent police service battle to maintain law and order, court processes falter and grind to a halt and an ANC-aligned military is brought in to impose martial law.
Then again maybe SA will become THE African superpower and rule the world with China, the US, Europe, India and everyone will go shopping in Dubai.
It’s all Hallmark video versus John Carpenter gore fests anyway.
I’m with news…
No effect on elections, its a party issue…ANC voters will rightly demand answers fron their party about the implications of a sitting president going to court for a 1/4 of his term.
There is no point in beating about the bush. Jacob Zuma should go and clea his name before I even consider voting for him. It does not make any sense for some people to commit themselves to voting for this man with a dark cloud hanging over him. Anyone who who wants to have an idea of what Jacob Zuma is accused of should go to the Constitutional Court and see the evidence for themselves and not rely on blind followers of Jacob Zuma who refuse to bow to reason, sense or logic.
The ANC NWC has indicated that the party plans to become involved in the legal process. This suggests to me that they are more concerned about the implications of a Zuma prosecution than many of us realise. They are finally waking up to the destructive effect of the Polokwane Conference and their subsequent decision to get rid of Mbeki.
These and other events have given rise to a hero for the voting masses who are likely to react very unfavourably to any setbacks he may suffer. This has to be very carefully managed in the light of the impending election. In the circumstances it is quite likely that the ANC is now looking for ways to extricate the party from a dilemma of their own making.
It seems quite possible that a Zuma prosecution or even theat of prosecution could have very serious implications for the ANC.
An unrelated event which may resonate in Africa is the inauguration of Obama. He is clearly intent on restoring political morality after an era of venality and corruption. Could this set a new standard for African leaders who will not want to be seen wanting in this context. Imagine what the Obama administration will think about a new South African leader with unresolved charges hanging over his head.