Ramakatsa v Magashule information

Ramakatsa v Magashule
Court	Constitutional Court of South Africa
Full case name	Ramakatsa and Others v Magashule and Others
Decided	18 December 2012 (2012-12-18)
Docket nos.	CCT 109/12
Citation(s)	[2012] ZACC 31; 2013 (2) BCLR 202 (CC)
Case history
Appealed from	High Court of South Africa, Free State Division – Ramakatsa and Others v Magashule and Others [2012] ZAFSHC 207
Court membership
Judges sitting	Mogoeng CJ, Moseneke DCJ, Cameron J (leave to appeal only), Froneman J, Jafta J, Khampepe J, Nkabinde J, Skweyiya J, van der Westhuizen J (merits only), Yacoob J and Zondo J
Case opinions
Section 19(1)(b) of the Constitution obligates every political party to act lawfully and in accordance with its own constitution. (Unanimous.) Leave to appeal is granted. (9:1) The African National Congress's June 2012 provincial elective conference in the Free State was unlawful and invalid. (7:3)
Decision by	Yacoob J (Mogoeng, Moseneke, Cameron, Jafta, Khampepe, Nkabinde, Skweyiya and Zondo concurring on leave to appeal) Moseneke DCJ and Jafta J (Khampepe, Nkabinde, Skweyiya, van der Westhuizen and Zondo concurring on the merits)
Dissent	Froneman J (Yacoob and Mogoeng concurring on the merits)
Keywords
Horizontal effect participatory democracy political parties section 19(1)(b) of the Constitution

Ramakatsa and Others v Magashule and Others is a 2012 decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa on the internal governance of political parties and the section 19 right to participate in political party activities. The court reviewed and overturned an internal elective conference held by the African National Congress (ANC) in Parys, Free State in June 2012. This had the effect of invalidating the election of the Free State ANC's provincial leadership, including the election of Ace Magashule as ANC Provincial Chairperson.

Writing for a majority of the court, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Justice Chris Jafta held that the Constitution obligates political parties to act lawfully, in accordance with their own constitutions, and otherwise in a manner that preserves their members' political rights. Thus, insofar as the ANC had disenfranchised its members by ignoring electoral irregularities in the internal conference, it had violated its members' constitutional rights as well as their contractual rights.