Civil society organisation My Vote Counts (MVC) has threatened legal action should President Cyril Ramaphosa sign legislation likely to give the ANC a greater share of the available funding for political parties and independent representatives.
The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill was passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) last week and sent to the president for assent. It will change the formula for the funding of political parties, giving the largest party by numbers in parliament a greater portion of funding from parliament.
In terms of the Political Party Funding Act, 66.6% of available funds are allocated based on proportional representation of the party in the legislature and 33.3% on an equitable basis.
The bill, which the committee adopted, changes this to 90% proportional — benefiting large parties — and 10% equitable.
The MVC said the bill in its present form is unconstitutional and undermines the constitutional duties of transparency and accountability in political party funding legislation.
The organisation has given the president until Tuesday to refer the bill back to the National Assembly and the NCOP for reconsideration, failing which legal action challenging the constitutionality of the legislation will be launched.
The bill removes the requirements, as per the Political Party Funding Act, to to disclose any funds received above R100,000 from private donors. It also removes the requirements that political parties may not receive more than R15m from a single donor.
“This means that donations in any amount may be given and need not be reported. This is an untenable and unconstitutional situation,” the MVC said in a letter sent to Ramaphosa on March 27.
“Without these critical boundaries in place, private entities are able to contribute unlimited amounts to political parties, and none of these transactions is required to be disclosed. This lacuna essentially nullifies the purpose of the legislation [Political Party Funding Act].”
Before the passing of the bill, opposition parties including the DA, ACDP, FF+ and IFP objected to the bill as it would give smaller parties smaller allocations of funding.
The NCOP did change a clause that would have given the president what critics said were “unfettered powers” to determine the annual upper limit for donations to political parties and independent representatives, the limit on donations from foreign entities and the minimum threshold amount for the disclosure of donations.
“Entrusting the president with the discretion to establish the upper limit and the disclosure threshold places a substantial amount of political influence within the grasp of one individual, who is a political actor and would typically be the head of a political party who would be disadvantaged or benefited by the changes. This is unconstitutional because the president, as the leader of a political party, inherently possesses a vested interest in the outcomes of such decisions,” said the MVC.
“The ability to influence the financial dynamics of political competition, including the flow of private donations, can significantly impact the political landscape to favour the president’s party. This arrangement essentially allows the president to set rules that could disproportionately benefit their political interests, creating an unequal playing field for other political entities.”
- With Linda Ensor
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