The EFF is in court in a last-minute bid for its leader Julius Malema and five others to attend Thursday's State of the Nation Address. But tough new joint sitting rules are in place to ban interrupting the President's speech in which the election date could be announced.

'No member may interrupt the President whilst delivering the State of the Nation Address," say the new rules for joint sittings. It's a move to address Sona disruptions that date back to 2015.

The new rules for joint sittings of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) also expressly ban repeated points of order to the same issue and require a dress code "befitting the dignity and decorum of the House". Parliamentarians who are removed physically or from the virtual platform will be referred for a decision on further disciplinary proceedings.

Crucially, the new joint sitting rules expressly provide for the use of "such force as may be reasonably necessary to overcome any resistance" when removing a rowdy MP.

The rules now also allow weapon-carrying security services into the House "in extraordinary circumstances in terms of security policy".

In the 2023 Sona, armed, balaclava-wearing police in camouflage uniforms entered the House when EFF leader Julius Malema and others carrying posters entered the stage where President Cyril Ramaphosa was sitting. The EFF MPs' guilty verdicts for contempt of Parliament stem from this incident.

That these joint sitting rules were adopted with a vote of 297 for and...