President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the controversial Electoral Matters Amendment Bill into law as concerns about the legislation linger.
A voter places his ballot in the box at the Union Building voting station in Pretoria on 1 November 2021. Picture: Jacques NellesThe Electoral Matters Amendment Bill landed on Ramaphosa’s desk after it was passed by Parliament in March.Political Parties Funding Act
“While the represented political parties fund is resourced by the fiscus, the multi-party democracy fund aims to raise and distribute donated funds from the private sector to represented political parties. The fund will now include independent candidates,” the Presidency said in aParliamentary legal advisor Charmaine van der Merwe told the National Assembly Programming Committee that political parties could receive as much money as is given to them and not have to declare the funds.
“So we are sitting a bit between a rock and a hard place. But we are fortunate that the act currently provides that in section 24, that the National Assembly may make a resolution and that the president may then make regulations based on that resolution. So it is currently possible in terms of the act,” Van Der Merwe said last Friday.Van der Merwe further emphasised that the resolution did not align with the provisions of the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill, but rather with those of the PPFA.
“The 15th is Cabinet day and therefore, we need the numbers in the House for these pieces of law to be processed.”Watch Friday’s meeting below:
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