THE Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will postpone the implementation of the Political Party Funding Act (The Act), signed by the President in January this year.
My Vote Counts (MVC) has consistently advocated for legislation to allow for regular and systematic disclosure of the sources and amounts of private funding allocated to political parties.
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In 2018, civil society called upon the President to sign the then Political Party Funding Bill by November 2018. The eventual signing of the Bill into law in January 2019 and the subsequent responsibility of the IEC to operationalise the Act, has coincided with a period nearing the May 2019 general elections.
“MVC acknowledges that the implementation of a new piece of legislation must be done effectively. We regret that the delay in signing the Act stalled the implementation of the first piece of legislation in South Africa’s history which would allow for systematic and regular disclosure of information on political parties private funding. It is unfortunate that the delay of the Act’s implementation sustains the poor status quo of a lack of transparency of the sources and amounts of donations made to parties.
“We are aware that the IEC has received over 5000 submissions on the draft regulations of the Act. The strong public interest in the regulations and the IEC’s decision to effectively engage the public is welcomed and we are aware that in order to effectively engage the public, the implementation of the Act will be delayed,” said MVC communications officer, Sheilan Clarke.
MVC urges political parties to open their books and exercise urgency in publicly disclosing records of their private funding sources, in the public interest. “Doing so will build public trust in our political system and be reflective of the political will to uphold transparency and accountability,” said Clarke.
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