Non-governmental organisation My Vote Counts called on members of the National Assembly to reject amendments to the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill (EMAB) and for Parliament to ensure that any changes in the law are in the public interest.  

The National Assembly will on Tuesday vote on what My Vote Counts describes as the "far-reaching" EMAB.

My Vote Counts said that in a “show of political expedience”, several of the amendments that relate to political party funding have strayed far beyond the scope of what is necessary to be in line with the amended Electoral Act.

The EMAB was introduced by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi in December 2023, with the aim of bringing several laws in line with the amended Electoral Act (2023), adopted by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on March 1, and is waiting to be signed into law.

My Vote Counts said it is clear that the EMAB amendments are unconstitutional and a grave threat to the country’s democracy, and that if it is signed into law, it will have detrimental consequences to the constitutional imperatives of transparency, openness and accountability.

“If signed into law, these wide-reaching amendments will open opportunities for a money-grab by political parties prior to a highly contested election,” it added.

Specifically, it is concerned about the amendments relating to the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA) and includes the allocation formula for political party funding from the State through the Represented Political Parties Fund and the way the yearly upper limit of donations and the disclosure threshold is determined.

It noted that the amendments seek to change the allocation formula to disperse funds from two-thirds proportional and one-third equitable, to 90% proportional and 10% equitable.

“This reverts to the funding formula in place before the introduction of the PPFA and will only benefit larger parties. The funding formula that has been in effect since April 2021 (two-thirds proportional and one-third equitable) was developed to provide a more even playing field in terms of public funding, and to provide smaller or emerging parties with a bigger slice of the public funding pie,” it said.

Additionally, the adopted version of the Bill repeals the Regulations that regulate how the annual disclosure threshold and the annual upper limit are determined. The previous proposed amendments sought to expand the President’s powers to make the determinations, but was rejected following public criticism.

“…there will be a legal void if the EMAB is signed into law, without a simultaneous proclamation by the President of the disclosure threshold, which is R100 000 and the upper limit, which is R15-million. If this transpires, there will be no disclosure threshold or upper limit in place, completely undermining key objectives of the PPFA,” My Vote Counts explained.

The organisation is of the opinion that this move is consistent with the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) ongoing campaign to undermine the PPFA, by expanding its reporting threshold and annual funding limits.

My Vote Counts noted that a year ago, the ANC instructed its MPs to use Parliamentary processes to give life to this campaign. 

The organisation said that ironically, when President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the PPFA into law in 2021, he said that it was, “part of the commitment of this administration to improving transparency and accountability in government”.

“If the ANC forces this through Parliament without remedying these defects, it will not only be challenged in Court, but reinforce the notion that the governing party is willing to forego on value and principle in the pursuit of power,” My Vote Counts said.

The campaign has also been supported by other established political parties and, if successful, will take the country back to the years of secrecy in politics and will see the grip that money has on the country’s democracy expanded, it added.