Electoral Matters Amendment Bill

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and the Select Committee on Security and Justice invites you to make written submissions on the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill [B42 – 2023] that was tabled before Parliament on 08 December 2023.

The Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Political Party Funding Act, 2018, so as to :
• provide for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives and matters incidental thereto;
• amend the title, long title and preamble;
• insert and substitute definitions; to amend the names of the Funds;
• preclude the Electoral Commission from accepting donations to the Multi-Party and Independents Democracy Fund which it has reason to believe is the proceeds of crime;
• empower the Commission to invest money in the Funds in any bank registered in terms of the Banks Act, 1990;
• proscribe the attachment of money in the Funds by certain persons;
• provide for the right of political parties, independent candidates and independent representatives to refuse donations;
• repeal section 10;
• amend the provisions relating to the accounting obligations of represented and unrepresented political parties;
• provide for independent representatives and independent candidates to account for income;
• provide for the offence of making a donation to a political party, a member of a political party, an independent candidate or an independent representative in the expectation that the party, member, candidate or representative will influence the award of benefits or relaxation of conditions;
• provide for the offence of making a donation to a member of a political party to circumvent the provisions of Chapter 3;
• provide for offences by a member of a political party of accepting a donation to circumvent the provisions of Chapter 3 or appropriating the donation for themselves;
• amend the powers of the President to make regulations on certain matters;
• amend Schedule 2 in respect of the formula for the allocation of money in the Funds on a proportional and equitable basis, in respect of the upper limit of donations and the disclosure limit for donations; and to amend the Electoral Act, 1998, the Electoral Commission Act, 1996, the Electronic Communications Act, 2005 and the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, 2009 so as to make consequential amendments resulting from the introduction of independent candidates to contest elections of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures

Submissions can be emailed to Mr Eddy Mathonsi at [email protected] by no later than Friday, 26 January 2024 at 16:00

Enquiries can be directed to Mr Mathonsi on cell 083 709 8523 or Mr Gurshwyn Dixon on cell 083 709 8513

Issued by Hon. MS Chabane, MP, Chairperson: Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs (National Assembly) and Hon. S Shaikh, MP, Chairperson: Select Committee on Security and Justice (National Council of Provinces).


Track the bill here

How to write a submission