Parliament warns of potential gap in Electoral Matters Amendment Bill
Opposition parties have been threatening legal action to the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill since it was passed by the National Assembly in March because of the impact it will have on how much funding they will receive from the state.
President Cyril Ramaphosa replied to oral questions from Members of the National Assembly at the Good Hope Chamber in Parliament, Cape Town on 19 March 2024. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X
CAPE TOWN - Parliament's administration is warning political parties of a potential gap in the law should President Cyril Ramaphosa assent to the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill before a new Parliament is elected.
The bill removes the current limit on donations to political parties and the threshold for declaring these donations as prescribed in the Political Party Funding Act.
This power will now be conferred to the president to determine the limits, acting upon instruction from the National Assembly.
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But opposition parties say they won’t agree to hastily passing a resolution before the House rises to retain the status quo until the bill becomes an act of law.
Opposition parties have been threatening legal action to the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill since it was passed by the National Assembly in March because of the impact it will have on how much funding they will receive from the state.
The president is yet to make the bill an act of law.
But until he sets new limits for donations to political parties, it would mean political parties could receive as much money as is given to them and not have to declare it.
Currently, political parties may not receive more than R15 million in a financial year from an external source. All donations over R100,000 must also be declared quarterly to the Electoral Commission.
Parliamentary legal advisor, Charmaine van der Merwe, is advising Parliament retains the current limits prescribed in the Political Party Funding Act for the time being.
"The president can only make those regulations upon a resolution from the National Assembly, so we are sitting between a rock and a hard place."
But opposition parties say the move is premature.
The matter has now been removed from this week's parliamentary order paper to allow for further consultation.