The IEC has published the donations declared by political parties ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has published its political party funding declarations report for the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, covering donations made between January 1 and March 31 2026.
The report, released ahead of the Local Government Elections on 4 November, revealed that political parties declared a combined R97.2 million in donations during the three months.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) emerged as the biggest beneficiary, declaring donations worth R57.3 million—more than half of all funds reported during the quarter.
RISE Mzansi followed with R30 million, while ActionSA declared R9.9 million. Smaller declarations were submitted by the Alliance of Citizens for Change and Build One South Africa.
In total, parties reported R94.8 million in direct financial contributions and R2.4 million in donations received through goods and services.
However, the report's most significant disclosure is RISE Mzansi's R30 million declaration, which the party recorded as the conversion of an existing loan into a donation.
The IEC said the details surrounding the transaction have not yet been fully clarified and confirmed that it will engage further with the party to determine whether the arrangement complies with the Political Party Funding Act.
The latest declarations mark the final funding disclosure cycle before voters head to the polls later this year, placing party finances firmly in the public spotlight.
The reporting period also falls under revised political funding rules that increased the disclosure threshold from R100,000 to R200,000 and raised the annual donation cap from R15 million to R30 million, allowing substantially larger contributions to be made and declared.
Meanwhile, the commission has flagged several donations linked to the African National Congress (ANC) that had not yet been formally acknowledged or declared by the party at the time of publication, raising concerns over compliance with political funding regulations.
Among the donations highlighted were R500,000 from Valumax Projects to the ANC's Ekurhuleni branch and R270,000 from Captrust Investments to the party's Veterans League.
The ANC has also come under scrutiny for submitting two substantial donation declarations after the prescribed deadline.
The late disclosures, valued at more than R10.5 million, include R10 million from Botho Botho Commercial Enterprises and R501,230 from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The Electoral Commission has subsequently directed the party to provide representations explaining the delays.
The Multi-Party Democracy Fund recorded contributions totalling R4.5 million during the reporting period, including R3 million from Vodacom South Africa and R1.5 million from Standard Bank.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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