Pretoria: The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has initiated a two-day symposium focused on political funding, with the goal of evaluating and enhancing the regulatory framework governing the use of money in politics.
According to South African Government News Agency, this inaugural symposium on political funding follows four years of implementing the Political Funding Act of 2018, which came into effect on 1 April 2021. Held under the theme ‘Sustaining Multi-Party Democracy through Enhancing Political Funding Regulation in South Africa’, the event aims to foster informed dialogue on the matters related to the use of money in politics, promote transparency and accountability models, as well as explore possible reforms to ensure an effective political finance regulatory regime in South Africa.
The Commission stated that key highlights of the symposium include opening remarks by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mosotho Moepya, a presentation by Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, and insights from the Political Funding Unit on the Commission’s experience in implementing the law since its promulgation. The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is also set to outline the preliminary outcomes of a research study that gathered views and perspectives of stakeholders and the public on political financing in the country.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is scheduled to address the symposium, where he is expected to provide a perspective on the public funding of elected representatives to enhance multi-party democracy. Several scholars will also present their work related to money and politics.
The programme highlights include a global perspective on political funding and campaign finance, the role and mandate of the political funding framework in strengthening democratic governance, assessing the capacity and commitment of key stakeholders in improving the regulation of political funding, and transparency in public and private political party funding: challenges and prospects.
The symposium convenes a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from political parties, members of parliament, academia, civil society, the media, the business sector, and international and intergovernmental organisations. Speaking ahead of the event, Mamabolo highlighted the need for a collective commitment to enhance transparency in the political funding landscape to foster a vibrant system of multiparty democracy. ‘By convening diverse stakeholders, we aim to critically assess our progress and explore avenues for strengthening the current regulatory framework and thus ensure that our democracy remains robust and resilient,’ he said.