Green light for electoral bill changes

Green light for electoral bill changes

Ten opposition parties, represented in Parliament, indicated they will take legal action after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday that he had signed the Electoral Matters Amendment Act.

The parties are understood to have held an urgent meeting after the Presidency made the announcement earlier on Tuesday ACDP chief whip Steve Swart said his party would take legal advice to contest the new law.

“We don’t accept it. I am sure there are other political parties that will be joining us,” he said.

Swart confirmed that they had a brief discussion after Ramaphosa announced the signing into law of the bill.

“We will be taking legal advice as to the way forward. We are definitely taking legal action.

“We still hold the view that the bill is unconstitutional,” he said, before referring questions to IFP chief whip Narend Singh.

Singh said: “We will issue a statement.” The signing of the bill into law came despite concerns being raised by opposition parties regarding changes made to political party funding.

The parties had urged Ramaphosa not to assent to the bill on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and was hastily rushed through Parliament.

“If the president assents to the bill, we would then be forced to join those in civil society, who have already given notice of their intention to approach the courts, to oppose this legislation on the grounds of unconstitutionality,” the parties warned.

The bill follows the Electoral Amendment Act passed last year to provide for independent candidates to stand for election to Parliament and provincial legislatures.

It provides for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives, among other things.

The new legislation removes the R15 million a year limit on the funding political parties may receive as donations. It now empowers the President to make regulations on the upper limits of donations and disclosure limits.

“In a year in which voters are presented with the greatest diversity of electoral choice, the legislation that is now enacted constitutes tangible, material support for a vibrant, competitive, open and equitable electoral system and democratic culture,” Ramaphosa said.

Last week, the National Assembly programme committee heard that the bill created a temporary gap in law assented to because there will be no upper limit or disclosure amounts until Ramaphosa made regulations.

The motion on the resolution on party funding is set to be considered next week when the House holds its last sitting for the term.

While Cosatu welcomed the signing of the bill into law, it “believed one critical amendment remained necessary and should be prioritised and considered by the seventh Parliament”, acting national spokesperson Matthew Parks said.

He said while supporting the need for flexibility on caps on donations, the provisions for thresholds below which donations need not be disclosed opened a massive and obvious gap for tenderpreneurs and other persons with criminal intent seeking to buy influence, to legally circumvent the progressive transparency and accountability objectives and provisions of the Act.

“This is dangerous given our painful experiences with state capture,” Parks said.

Cape Times