Independent judicial watchdog Judges Matter says it is unlikely that the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party will be able to block parliament's first meeting.
This comes after the party's lawyers sent a letter of demand to the Chief Secretary of Parliament and Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, urging both offices to refrain from holding the first sitting of Parliament.
The MK party's lawyer told SABC News that legal action would be taken if the demand letter was not complied with.
The demand comes after the IEC formally handed over the list of National Assembly and State Assembly members to the Chief Justice who in turn handed it over to the Chief Secretary of Parliament, paving the way for the swearing-in of the members to take place soon.
The MK party maintains that it has had several grievances since the IEC announced the results and these need to be resolved before the first sitting of Parliament.
The National Assembly has confirmed that the first session will go ahead as scheduled, despite some political parties indicating they will not attend.
Mbekezeli Benjamin, research and advocacy officer at Judges Matter, said: “Anyone who is unhappy with the IEC's decision on the election results, MK and about 20 other parties challenged them and the IEC rejected those challenges. The Electoral Act says that you have to appeal to the Electoral Tribunal within three days. So if you are not happy with the IEC's decision on the outcome of your challenge, you can appeal to the Electoral Tribunal. That appeal had to be submitted by last Wednesday but I don't know if the MK party did. If they didn't, unfortunately, it's too late.”
Meanwhile, the Congress has cancelled all flights and accommodation arrangements for its lawmakers after the party informed the National Assembly that they 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.
MK also stated that he did not consider the first conference to be constitutional and accordingly instructed the 58 elected members of parliament to boycott the conference.
Motapo said following this official report to Parliament, the department has decided to implement several cost-cutting measures.
“As the first meetings of the National Assembly and National Provincial Assembly will be held in person, Parliamentary Secretariat is making arrangements to provide travel and accommodation expenses for all MPs listed on the IEC taken over from the Chief Justice to attend these meetings and the associated on-boarding activities scheduled in Cape Town. Following the MK party's announcement through its legal representative of its decision not to attend the first meetings, Parliament has cancelled all accommodation and flight arrangements for the party's elected MPs. This measure is to avoid unnecessary and wasteful expenditure,” Motapo says.
