A Professor of Politics at UNISA, Dirk Kotze, says members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party still have an opportunity to be sworn in after the first sittings of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
MK has boycotted the first sittings expected to take place on Friday and Saturday, presided over by the Chief Justice.
The National Assembly sitting is scheduled to take place on Friday morning while the NCOP one is expected to take place on Saturday.
The party is challenging the 2024 election results outcome.
The MK party is currently the third largest political party which garnered 58 seats in the Assembly.
Kotze says nothing disqualifies the MK members from taking their seats later.
“It doesn’t mean that they are completely excluded from Parliament or disqualified from Parliament but what they will not be able to do, is they will not be sworn in as members of Parliament with all the others. They will not be able to participate in the election of the President, the Speaker, or the Deputy Speaker but when they decide they want to come back to Parliament they can do so. They have been elected. Nothing disqualifies them. Then a judge will have to swear them in as members of Parliament. Once they have done that they will become part of the community of Parliamentarians in the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, Parliament says it has cancelled all flight and accommodation arrangements for members of the MK party, in light of the party informing the institution that they will not attend the first sitting.
Parliament’s Spokesperson Moloto Mothapo says they take note of the MK party’s intent to challenge the validity of the election results.
