ELECTORAL MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL SIGNED INTO LAW

ELECTORAL MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL SIGNED INTO LAW

• 07 May 2024
• New Legislation
• SA Legal Academy

Please note: 1) The Electoral Matters Amendment Act was gazetted several hours after the Presidency announcement. 2) At the time of writing, it was not yet in force (and, in terms of section 46, might have been commenced incrementally on dates to be published in the Government Gazette) 3) On 9 May 2024, a backdated presidential proclamation in the Government Gazette announced the Act's commencement in its entirety from 8 May 2024 4) The Second Adjustments Appropriation (2023/24 Financial Year) Act was published at the same time and came into force immediately.

The Presidency has issued a media statement announcing that the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill has been signed into law. However, at the time of writing the new Act had yet to be published in the Government Gazette.

As SA Legal Academy has regularly reported, the Bill’s overarching objective is to align various pieces of legislation with provisions in the Electoral Amendment Act, 2023, which enables independent candidates to stand for election to national Parliament and the provincial legislatures. To that end – according to the Presidency – among other things the new piece of legislation qualifies elected independent candidates to allocations from the Multi-Party Democracy Fund, which is administered by the Independent Electoral Commission.

It is in that context that the statement draws attention to the significance of political party funding provisions in the Second Adjustments Appropriation (2023/24 Financial Year) Bill, which has also been signed into law. In terms of this new piece of legislation, R200m has been allocated to the Department of Home Affairs – earmarked for the Independent Electoral Commission’s Represented Political Parties Fund. At the time of writing, the Second Adjustments Appropriation (2023/24 Financial Year) Act had yet to be gazetted.

In terms of the Political Party Funding Act, 2018, all private donations to political parties represented in national Parliament and the provincial legislatures should be held in the Multi-Party Democracy Fund, which is also administered by the Independent Electoral Commission.

• Presidency media statement
• Political Party Funding Act, 2018 (before being amended by the Electoral Matters Amendment Act, which is not yet available)
• Electoral Matters Amendment Bill’s ‘B’ version (now signed into law but unavailable as an Act)
• Second Adjustments Appropriation (2023/24 Financial Year) Bill (now signed into law but unavailable as an Act)

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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