Representatives from eight opposition parties in Parliament have declared their intention to contest the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill in court if it is enacted in its current state.
The Bill aims to modify the Political Party Funding Act of 2018 to align it with various legislations, bringing it in line with the Electoral Amendment Act of 2003. These proposed alterations are currently under review by the National Council of Provinces following their adoption by the National Assembly last week.
Chief Whip of the IFP Narend Singh and a critic of the proposed amendments accused the ANC of advocating for clauses that would disproportionately benefit the majority party in Parliament, to the detriment of smaller parties.
Singh says, “The proposed amendments seek to change the funding model formula for political parties as required by the current laws. The current two-thirds proportional and one-third equitable funding model is now replaced in this Bill with the 90 percent proportional and the 10 percent equitable model. This is in the utmost bad faith by the ruling party and unilaterally amends the funding formula that was previously agreed upon in an ad hoc committee which dealt with the Political Funding Act in 2017.”
Opposition parties threaten legal action if President approves Electoral Matters Amendment Bill:
Last week, the National Assembly passed the Bill with 240 votes in favour and 90 against. The proposed changes would allocate funds according to a 90% proportional representation and 10% equitable basis, replacing the current 66.6% proportional representation and 33.3% equitable basis under the Political Party Funding Act.
Singh, representing the coalition of opposition parties, elaborated, “The immediate impact of these changes if approved and signed by the President, will see the ruling party receiving the additional R52 million more for the election budget at the expense of other parties. The current two-thirds proportional and one-third equitable funding model formula was negotiated and designed to provide an even playing field in terms of public funding. It was developed to afford smaller or emerging parties with a fair slice of the public funding pie to enhance multi-party democracy.”
2024 Elections | Spotlight on Electoral Matters Amendment Bill
Opposition Parties meet with the media expressing grave concerns on current-form of the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill B42 – 2023. #voteIFP #trustus #doitforshenge pic.twitter.com/xarRe20RfT
— #VoteIFP (@IFP_National) March 19, 2024
ANC PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS WELCOMES THE PASSING OF THE ELECTORAL MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL pic.twitter.com/4TMkawwSUL
— ANC Parliament (@ANCParliament) March 12, 2024
