In a judgment delivered late on Wednesday night, South
Africa’s apex court ruled that it was neither within its jurisdiction to hear
the case nor in the interest of justice to grant direct access to MK Party.
The court said: “It is not in the interests of justice to
grant direct access as the impugned decisions or conduct first arose between 1
and 2 June 2024, to the knowledge of the applicant. However, despite this
knowledge, the applicant only launched the application on 10 June 2024. The
applicant has failed to show any justification for not bringing this
application sooner when it was aware of the constitutional requirement to
convene the National Assembly no later than 14 days after the declaration of the
election results. In the circumstances, the urgency is thus self-created.”
In addition, the Constitutional Court said the MK Party
application failed on its merits.
“The applicant has not made out a case for the granting of
an interim interdict as it has neither shown that it will suffer irreparable
harm if the interdict is not granted, nor that the balance of convenience
favours the granting of the interdict. The applicant has also misconstrued the
relevant constitutional provisions it seeks to rely on. In addition, the
applicant has not adduced facts to establish a prima facie case in respect of
the relief it will seek in the main application, in order to sustain an interim
interdict pending the main application.” IOL
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