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The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has flagged serious compliance issues regarding donations declared by the ANC, stating that submissions from the party and its donors failed to meet the requirements of the Political Party Funding Act and its disclosure framework.
The IEC published its political party donation disclosures for the first quarter of the 2026/2027 financial year, before the November 4 local government elections.
In total, four political parties declared R116.8m in donations for the quarter.
This comprises R111.5m in direct monetary contributions and R5.28m in in-kind donations.
However, the IEC noted that R15.27m in donations made to the ANC was excluded from the compliant total because the party failed to meet regulatory requirements. The non-compliant funds came from the Batho Batho Trust (R15m) and Captrust Investment (R270,000).
According to the IEC, the ANC’s disclosures lacked key documentation, including dual disclosures, required donor declarations, proof of underlying transactions and supporting paperwork, alongside late reporting. Additionally, the party declared roughly R41m in late disclosures dating back to the 2025/2026 financial year.
The IEC has since initiated regulatory action, issuing the ANC a formal section 15 direction to address the non-compliance or face strict penalties.
“Failure to comply with the issued direction may result in further regulatory action, including withholding future allocations from the Political Party Representatives Fund and the Multi-Party Democracy Fund,” the IEC said.
“Continued non-compliance may also result in referral to the electoral court for appropriate sanctions in terms of the act.”
The commission emphasised that flagging these transactions does not automatically render the underlying donations unlawful but highlights significant procedural failures.
Meanwhile, the DA emerged as the biggest beneficiary of political funding for the period, declaring R104m from nine donors. Of this total, R98.75m was made in direct monetary contributions, while R5.28m was provided as in-kind support.
The DA’s primary contributors included Fynbos Ekwiteit (R30m) and Fynbos Kapitaal (R25m). The party’s in-kind declarations covered operational expenses paid on its behalf, including advertising, staffing, legal services, and campaign-related costs.
Other political parties also submitted donation declarations for the quarter:
- ActionSA declared R5.5m from two donors: R5m from Martin Moshal and R500,000 from Siyaya Free To Air TV. However, the IEC flagged the Siyaya contribution after the broadcaster failed to submit its required donor declaration to match the party’s filing.
- The Labour Party declared R5m in direct monetary donations.
- Rise Mzansi disclosed R2.25m in monetary donations from two investment firms.
The IEC noted that it expects political funding declarations to surge as parties ramp up fundraising efforts for campaigns before the local government elections.
The commission warned that it will look for compliance risks such as high-value donations and discrepancies.
“The commission reminds political parties and donors that transparency in political funding is dependent not only on disclosure but also on accurate, complete, timely and verifiable disclosure.”
TimesLIVE
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