Gap remains in Electoral Matters Amendment Act over Party funding

Civil society organisation, My Vote Counts, is again sounding the alarm over the gap in the contentious Electoral Matters Amendment Act.

Political parties can receive unlimited amounts of money without being required to declare these funds, as mandated by the Political Parties Funding Act (PPFA).

This change is a result of the enactment of the Electoral Matters Amendment Act, signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa a few weeks before the general election on 29 May.

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The new Act has removed the R15 million limit on donations to political parties from a single donor per year as well as the R100 000 threshold for declaring these donations to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The authority to establish limits now rests with the president, who will act upon a resolution adopted by Parliament.

My Votes Counts challenges PPFA

My Vote Counts is now pursuing its May 2023 court application regarding the PPFA, aiming to overturn the Electoral Matters Amendment Act and nullify all actions taken under it since it became law.

At the time, the organisation dragged the government to the Western Cape High Court, seeking an order to declare the PPFA unconstitutional and invalid.

But the case has not yet been heard.

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The civil society group has now argued that the Electoral Matters Amendment Act has created a “lacuna” for party funding declarations.

“This lacuna allows donors to give unlimited amounts to political parties without any obligation for either the donors or the parties to disclose this information.

“This entirely avoidable situation has opened the door for political influence to be bought in secrecy. Now, political parties must resist exploiting this period of funding lawlessness and refrain from engaging in a money-grab.”

Urgent relief over Electoral Matters Amendment Act

This gap prompted My Vote Counts to approach the Western Cape High Court seeking urgent relief.

The organisation requested that the high court immediately declare parts of the new law related to the PPFA unconstitutional.

They argued that the disclosure threshold should remain at R100 000 and the upper limit at R15 million until Parliament passes a resolution on the matter and the president makes a final determination on the limits.

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While Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare agreed in a judgment delivered on 27 May that there was a loophole in the legislation, he did not make an order of constitutional invalidity and “took no immediate action to close this gap”.

According to My Vote Counts, Thulare did not make a ruling to avoid “usurping legislative authority”.

Instead, the judge ruled that interested parties return on 12 August to show cause why the order should not be granted.

The organisation previously argued that the Electoral Matters Amendment Act would make it easier for political parties and independent candidates to receive more money from donors, with less transparency.

Some political parties, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) have also threatened court action over the new law.

The Electoral Matters Amendment Act was introduced in December 2023 by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to bring other pieces of legislation in line with the Electoral Amendment Act, which allows independent candidates to contest the national and provincial elections.