IEC praises response to political funding draft regulations

As one of the few countries in the world which has not regulated the private funding of political parties, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) held public hearings last week into the draft regulations for the Political Party Funding Act and received over 4,300 written submissions from interested parties.

The Act obliges parties and independent candidates to disclose information regarding their sources of funding and make it available to the public. This includes all information on donations, with amounts and identities of donors.

IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said since the draft regulations were published in March, the electoral commission had received written submissions ranging from those simply welcoming the introduction of a party funding regulatory regime to those who made substantive recommendations relating to the regulations and/or the legislation.

“The IEC welcomes the spirit of cooperation and support shown by all participants in seeking the implementation of an effective and efficient political party funding regime as soon as possible,” said Bapela.

Chairperson of the IEC Glen Mashinini said a central theme which emerged during the hearings was a shared desire to see the legislation and regulations implemented urgently.

“This bodes well for the cooperation which will be needed between political parties, civil society, the business community and others in implementing this safeguard for electoral democracy,” said Mashinini.

The Political Party Funding Bill was approved by the National Assembly in March 2018. It was approved without amendment by the National Council of Provinces in July 2018.

It is anticipated the provisions of the Act would be gradually phased in over a two- to three-year period to allow for the development of capacity within the IEC to oversee the implementation of and compliance with the legislation.

According to the Act, political parties and donors must disclose donations above R100,000 in a financial year and there is a maximum donation amount for private donors (individuals or entities) of R15 million per year, per party.

Parties cannot receive donations from foreign governments or agencies, state-owned enterprises or any organ of state.

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