My Vote Counts loses court bid to have Political Funding Act declared unconstitutional

CAPE TOWN - Lobby group My Vote Counts has lost a high court bid to have the Political Funding Act declared unconstitutional.

The Western Cape High Court has also dismissed its arguments that the president should not be allowed to determine the limit for private donations and that all donations should be declared.

The organisation, which has until now had regular success in the courts to challenge the way parties are funded, said it remains committed to curbing elite influence over the country’s politics.

With the country’s wealthiest families and philanthropists having become common benefactors of political parties, My Vote Counts went to court in February to argue that the original R15 million annual limit for donations was excessive and unjustifiable.

This week, that limit was officially doubled by the president on Parliament's recommendation and the threshold for disclosing donations to R200,000.

In a judgment by a full bench, the court said there’s no merit to the challenge that Parliament has delegated its authority to the president since hedetermines the advice of the National Assembly.

While My Vote Counts argued that the original figures were arbitrarily determined in 2018, the court said it doesn’t have the jurisdiction to determine whether the public participation process was inadequate.

The court said private donations allow ordinary citizens to participate in the electoral process, and to whom they donate is their right under the freedom of association.

My Vote Counts' Joel Bregman said the organisation will continue to litigate to deepen the right of access to information so that the electorate can exercise their voting rights from an informed position.