Ramaphosa signs Electoral Matters Amendment Bill into law

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill into law, the final legislation needed to give full effect to this month's elections. 
 
Its primary intention is to regulate donations to independent candidates in the same manner as political parties and to ensure they will also benefit from state and other funding once elected to office. 
 
But it has also created a temporary gap in the law, removing the limit on how much funding political parties may receive from donors and they won’t have to declare it either.

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The Electoral Matters Amendment Bill amends the Political Party Funding Act passed in 2021, removing the R15 million a year limit on funding political parties may receive from external sources. 
 
It also removes the R100,000 threshold to declare these donations. 
 
The new act will instead give the president the power to set a new limit and a new threshold. 
 
But he can only do so upon the instruction from Parliament. 
 
The new act also provides for independent candidates elected to legislatures to receive funding from the Multi-Party Democracy Fund, which is funded by private donors, and administered by the Electoral Commission (IEC). 
 
The president, on Tuesday, also assented to the Second Adjustments Appropriation Bill, which provides an additional R200 million to represented political parties to campaign for this month's elections. 
 
The president says the legislation gives tangible and material support for a vibrant, competitive, open and equitable electoral system.