Opposition parties to challenge ANC’s Political Party Funding Act changes
The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill makes amendments to five electoral laws. But opposition parties say the changes have gone too far, and will impact multi-party democracy.
Delegates at the ANC's 55th national elective conference on 17 December 2022. Picture: Jacques Nelles/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) has been accused of staging a money-grab through the passing of the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill on Tuesday afternoon.
Opposition parties estimate that the majority party could benefit by as much as R50 million more from state coffers in this financial year, owing to a change in the funding formula for political parties.
They said they would go to court to challenge what they believe is an unnecessary change to the Political Party Funding Act, when the intention was only to make provision for independent candidates to also declare their funding sources.
The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill makes amendments to five electoral laws. But opposition parties say the changes have gone too far, and will impact multi-party democracy.
A two-thirds to one-third proportional to equitable funding ratio has been changed to 90% and 10% respectively.
OPPOSITION PARTIES RESIST
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Adrian Roos said, “The bill before us today is a crude attempt at directing more public and donor funds into the coffers of the ANC, to help them to cling on to power.”
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) Liezl van der Merwe: “In what can only be described as an unconstitutional money grab by the ruling party, they are today nullifying the leveling of the playing fields.”
United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) Nqabayomzi Kwankwa: “The ruling party has placed itself in the centre by trying to manipulate this, in order for it to do a smash and grab on the resources that are already in the majority of instances allocated to parties.”
But Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi shrugged off their complaints, and said he was confident the bill would withstand any court challenge.
The ANC, EFF and National Freedom Party supported the bill with 240 votes to 90 against from the DA, IFP, ACDP, Freedom Front Plus, GOOD, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and UDM.
The bill will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.