MK in desperate court bid to block Parliament opening 

By Zukile Majova

Former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party has gone to the Constitutional Court in a desperate attempt to block the first sitting of Parliament on Friday.

The party hopes to interdict Chief Justice Raymond Zondo from calling the first sitting, saying it would be unconstitutional to hold it without the 58 MK members.

The party has decided to boycott Parliament as part of its legal challenge to the election results announced by the IEC last week.

In its papers filed with the Concourt on Tuesday, the MK said the matter was urgent and needed to be heard before 14 June.

“The National Assembly is not properly constituted unless in its first sitting it constituted no less than 350 members and no more than 400 members,” the party wrote. 

Parliament has already responded to this argument, saying it does not agree with the MK’s interpretation of Section 46 of the Constitution.

“Parliament is of the view that it is legally bound to facilitate the first sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces at a date and time determined by the Chief Justice, and no legal impediments are preventing this process,” it said in a statement on Monday.

It said that unless a court sets aside the election results, Parliament will proceed with the sitting.

By law, the first sitting of Parliament must be arranged within 14 days of the election results being announced.

Advocate Mushahida Adhikari, the chief legal adviser to Parliament, has written to the MK party to inform them that travel arrangements for its MPs will be cancelled to save taxpayers’ money.

Xolile George, the secretary to Parliament, said the MK had misunderstood the rules governing the quorum of Parliament. He said one-third of MPs in attendance would be enough to form a quorum.

Pictured above: Parliament room. 

Source: X