Legal team to review court ruling on political party funding

THE Western Cape High Court has dismissed the application from advocacy group My Vote Counts (MVC), which sought to have the Political Party Funding Act declared unconstitutional.

- MAYIBONGWE MAGHINA

This takes place as ActionSA, which opposed the application, welcomed the court's judgment, saying the application was “misguided”.

The judgment, handed down last week Thursday, has prompted My Vote Counts to engage with its legal team to study the court's decision.

My Vote Counts initiated legal proceedings earlier this year, wanting the donation limitation and disclosure threshold declared unconstitutional on various grounds.

The group contended that all donations should be made public to enhance transparency and accountability, and raised concerns regarding the lack of provisions to address cumulative donations from interconnected donors.

In his judgment, Judge Nathan Erasmus determined that the challenge became moot due to the recent amendments made by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who set the annual donation limit at R30 million - up from R15m - and a new disclosure threshold of R200 000, increased from R100 000.

“Consequently, the determination of any constitutional challenges here will have no practical effect. As a court of first instance, it is not for us to determine issues which have become moot,” Erasmus said.