South Africa’s Political Parties Declare R97 Million in Donations Ahead of 2026 Local Elections

South Africa’s Political Parties Declare R97 Million in Donations Ahead of 2026 Local Elections

South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) has revealed that five political parties collectively declared R97.2 million in donations between January and March 2026 — nearly seven times more than the same period last year — as the country gears up for the 2026 Local Government Elections scheduled for 4 November.

DA Leads the Pack

The Democratic Alliance (DA) declared the most, reporting over R57.3 million in donations — roughly 60% of all declared funding for the quarter. Major contributors included Main Street 1564 Pty Ltd, Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd, and Fynbos Kapitaal Proprietary Limited, each donating between R10 million and R13 million.

The DA also received foreign-linked funding from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and R1.27 million from the Danish Liberal Democracy Programme, raising questions about international influence in South African politics.

RISE Mzansi’s R30 Million Loan Conversion Raises Eyebrows

RISE Mzansi declared a single R30 million donation from an entity called ‘We Are The People’ — one of the largest individual declarations since the Political Funding Act came into force. The IEC flagged the donation, noting it originated from a loan conversion whose “terms are still to be clarified.”

The commission confirmed it will engage further with the party to verify compliance with the Act.

ActionSA and Smaller Parties

ActionSA declared R9.9 million in donations, with businessman Martin Moshal contributing R5 million and party leader Herman Mashaba adding approximately R2.9 million of his own money.

Other parties declared smaller amounts:

ANC Under Scrutiny for Late Declarations

The African National Congress (ANC) did not formally declare donations during the reporting period, but the IEC highlighted R10.5 million in late declarations — including R10 million from Botho Botho Commercial Enterprises and R501,230 from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

The IEC has issued the ANC with a directive to submit representations regarding these late filings, signalling growing scrutiny of the ruling party’s funding compliance.

Multi-Party Democracy Fund Gets a Boost

The Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF), managed by the IEC to support broader political participation, received R4.5 million this quarter. Vodacom South Africa contributed R3 million and Standard Bank added R1.5 million.

The IEC called on more companies to contribute to the fund, emphasising its role in sustaining democratic participation across all parties.

Election Season Is “Firmly Under Way”

Total declared donations surged from R14.1 million in Q4 2024/25 to R97.8 million in Q4 2025/26 — a near-sevenfold increase that reflects the intensifying political climate ahead of November’s local government vote.

The IEC warned that donation volumes could rise “potentially exponentially” as campaigning heats up, and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and enforcement of the Political Funding Act of 2018.

Under a revised disclosure framework approved by the National Assembly, the donation disclosure threshold has been raised from R100,000 to R200,000, and the annual upper donation limit doubled from R15 million to R30 million.