South Africa's top court will hear an appeal on Friday to have former president Jacob Zuma declared ineligible in a politically charged legal showdown set to raise tensions before the tightest election in decades.
Zuma, 82, is fronting a new opposition party that has become a potential disrupter in the May 29 general election.
But electoral authorities have argued the politician should be barred from the race because of a 2021 contempt of court conviction.
The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg is called to decide on the matter after a lower court sided with Zuma in April.
Most competitive election
Legal experts say it might take a few days to reach a verdict.
Coming only weeks before what is expected to be the most competitive vote since the advent of democracy in 1994, the case has made some observers nervous.
Zuma's jailing in 2021 triggered a wave of unrest, riots and looting that left more than 350 people dead.
There are fears of a repeat.
It is the same court that in 2021 sentenced Zuma to 15 months in prison after he refused to testify to a panel investigating financial corruption and cronyism during his presidency.
And the head of that panel is now the court's chief justice.
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