Quote of the week
Universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll is one of the foundational values of our entire constitutional order. The achievement of the franchise has historically been important both for the acquisition of the rights of full and effective citizenship by all South Africans regardless of race, and for the accomplishment of an all-embracing nationhood. The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. In a country of great disparities of wealth and power it declares that whoever we are, whether rich or poor, exalted or disgraced, we all belong to the same democratic South African nation; that our destinies are intertwined in a single interactive polity.
August and Another v Electoral Commission and Others (CCT8/99) [1999] ZACC 3
Scorpions bombshell coming?
The Citizen reports this morning that Parliament has done an about-turn and launched a “desperate” last-minute bid against a Johannesburg businessman’s urgent High Court interdict application against disbanding the Scorpions.
Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairman Johannes Mahlangu filed affidavits with the Pretoria High Court on Monday, asking to present their case if Glenister intends to interdict Parliament.
From what I hear from lawyers and going on what was said in the media, it might well be that Mbete has gotten wind that the Court will rule against the government and the ANC leadership in Parliament is now trying to stop this from happening.
If the court rules in favour of the Johanneburg businesman it would be truly a legal bombshell. The judge will become the hero of the chattering classes and the villian of the new ANC eladership. Thing is, it is the same judge who acquitted Jacob Zuma on rape charges so vilifying him might be awkward.
