South Africa's Constitutional Court, the country's highest court, ruled on Monday, May 20, that former President Jacob Zuma is not eligible to run for parliament in the upcoming May 29 elections, reports indicate.

Just over a week before the crucial vote, the Constitutional Court overturned a special electoral court’s earlier decision, ruling that Zuma could not stand as a candidate in the May 29 election because of a past criminal conviction. In March, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa, the country's election management body, said it upheld an objection against Zuma's candidacy in the upcoming elections.

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Zuma has fallen out with the governing African National Congress (ANC) and has been campaigning for a new party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) named after the ANC's former armed wing.

Zuma resigned from the presidency in 2018 amid widespread protests. Three years later, he was convicted and sentenced for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry.

According to South Africa's electoral management body, the 2024 elections are expected to be the most competitive in the country's history, with more than 14,000 candidates vying for 887 seats in national and provincial legislatures.