UNISA political science professor Dirk Kotze said Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party members still have the opportunity to be sworn in after the first meetings of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
MKs boycotted the first hearings scheduled for Friday and Saturday, chaired by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The National Assembly meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday morning while the NCOP meeting is scheduled to be held on Saturday.
The party is contesting the results of the 2024 election.
The MK Party is currently the third largest party in parliament with 58 seats.
Kotze says there is nothing to prevent MK MPs from taking their seats later.
“This does not mean that they will be completely removed from Parliament or disqualified from Parliament, but it does mean that they cannot be sworn in as MPs along with all the other members. They cannot take part in the election of the President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, but if they decide they want to return to Parliament they can. They were elected. There is nothing to disqualify them. Then a judge must swear them in as MPs. Once they do that, they become part of the parliamentary community of the National Assembly.”
Meanwhile, the Congress announced that it had cancelled all flights and accommodation arrangements for MK Party lawmakers after the party informed Parliament that it would not be attending the first session.
Parliamentary spokesman Moloto Motapo said he was mindful of MK's intention to challenge the legitimacy of the election results.
