My Vote Counts applies for leave to appeal in case challenging the Political Funding Act

In 2023 My Vote Counts (MVC) launched legal proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of the Political Funding Act (PFA). The case was heard by a full bench of the Western Cape High Court in February 2025, and judgment was delivered in August. MVC’s application was dismissed in its entirety.

On 11 September 2025, MVC launched two applications for leave to appeal against the High Court’s order: (i) an application to the Constitutional Court for direct leave to appeal (“the CC application”); and (ii) an application to the High Court for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (“the HC application”).

The HC application is of a conditional nature in the manner contemplated in Rule 19(3)(d)(ii) of the Constitutional Court Rules. It is conditional on the CC application being refused by the Constitutional Court. What this means is that the HC application is subject to the CC application, in the sense that if the Constitutional Court denies MVC direct leave to appeal, then MVC will persist with the HC application. If on the other hand the Constitutional Court grants MVC leave to appeal, then the HC application will, by virtue of its conditional nature, fall away.

Please see our CC papers here and our HC papers here.

MVC asks President to provide reasons for doubling the disclosure threshold and annual donation limit

In a separate, but related process, MVC wrote to the President requesting ‘written reasons for, and the complete record that informed, the President’s Proclamation and the decision to determine the new thresholds’ in the PFA. We requested a response by 20 October 2025. Read our letter here.

MVC also made a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request for this information. The complete record that we requested is:

‘Any and all documents that informed the President’s Proclamation, including, inter alia, briefing notes, memoranda, analyses or impact assessments, correspondence or consultations with the IEC or other state bodies, public or stakeholder submissions, draft versions of the President’s
Proclamation, and any legal opinions or approvals relied upon.’

Our letter and PAIA request are a response to the President’s decision to double the disclosure threshold from R100,000 to R200,000 and the upper donation limit from R15m to R30m. These new limits have been in effect since 18 August 2025, the day the proclamation was published in the Government Gazette. You can read our critique of the President’s decision here.

As these processes unfold, we will issue further updates.

[ENDS]

Submitted by Joel Bregman, Project Lead on Money in Politics

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