Opposition parties mull challenging changes to Political Party Funding Act

CAPE TOWN - Political parties opposed to changes to the Political Party Funding Act say they are taking legal advice on whether the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) can be blocked from dispensing a special R200 million allocation by the National Treasury in the February budget – until they’ve challenged the amendment. 

At the heart of their issue is the funding formula which will be used to dispense the money, after the African National Congress (ANC) pushed through a revision in the Electoral Matters Amendment Act gazetted this week. 

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The parties claim it’s a cash grab by the ruling party, which they say they will challenge, even if only after the elections. 

Changes to the Political Party Funding Act were intended to regulate funding to independent candidates in a similar manner to political parties. 

But the ANC has used the opportunity to abolish a two-thirds proportional to one-third equitable split in the allocation of State funding to parties, in favour of the previous 90 to 10 ratio. 

Inkatha Freedom Party chief whip Narend Singh said this could not be left unchallenged. 

“It’s something we could continue to take up in the seventh Parliament. We could also consider the option of accepting what there is now under protest, and it depends how much time we have between now and the elections.”

Singh said the change in the funding formula also raised another conundrum. 

“We don’t know now whether the IEC is going to use the current formula, or the formula as existed then when the money was appropriated.”

Singh said there was also uncertainty whether a represented party not contesting this year’s elections was still entitled to a share of the special funding allocation.