Political funding law ‘weak’

ELECTION WATCHDOG: SOURCES OF ONLY A THIRD OF PARTIES' PRIVATE FUNDING IS KNOWN

- Eric Mthobeli Naki

The Political Party Funding Act (PPFA) is flawed, with many legislative gaps and implementation issues, says election watchdog My Vote Counts (MVC).

Much is still hidden from public scrutiny and that is a threat to transparency and accountability regarding political party funding in the country, it said.

The Act has many weaknesses regarding donations to political parties and their lending and spending activities, said MVC.

In a submission by MVC's Lauren Gildenhuys and Joel Bregman, MVC questioned the efficacy of the Electoral Commission of South Africa-administered (IEC) political party funding approach, or the way the legislation operates.

The MVC report provides detailed visualisations and analyses of the IEC data gleaned from the IEC annual Political Party Funding Report from 1 April, 2023 to 31 March, 2024.