Electoral Commission of South Africa v African Independent Congress and Others

The Electoral Commission of South Africa and its Chief Electoral Officer approached the Electoral Court seeking the imposition of administrative penalties against 486 registered political parties for failure to comply with section 12 of the Political Party Funding Act 6 of 2018, read with Regulation 10. These provisions require political parties to keep proper books of account, have them audited by a registered auditor, and submit audited financial statements and an auditor’s opinion to the Commission within six months of the end of each financial year. The first six respondents were represented political parties, while the remaining respondents were unrepresented parties. Despite workshops, correspondence, and directives issued under section 15 of the Act, the respondents failed to submit audited financial statements timeously or at all. Most respondents did not oppose the application, and those who responded generally admitted non-compliance, citing reasons such as lack of funds, lack of understanding, dormancy, or failure to appoint auditors.

The court declared that all respondents had failed to comply with section 12 of the Political Party Funding Act read with Regulation 10. Administrative penalties were imposed: R40 000 each on the first to sixth respondents and on respondents in Categories B and D; R10 000 each on respondents in Categories C, E, and F (excluding the 336th respondent). No order as to costs was made.

This judgment affirms the strict and peremptory nature of political party funding disclosure and accounting obligations in South Africa. It underscores the role of the Electoral Commission in enforcing transparency and accountability in political party funding, reinforces the principle that courts cannot condone non-compliance with mandatory statutory duties based on subjective hardship, and clarifies that all registered political parties—represented or not—are equally bound by the Political Party Funding Act.