Durban - All political parties and independent candidates should receive equal treatment when it comes to funding by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
This was the view of the Democracy Development Programme (DDP) executive director, Dr Paul Kariuki.
Kariuki spoke to The Star on Wednesday as the DDP was preparing to host a public forum to engage on the call for the review of the Political Party Act.
The event, which would include all political parties in KwaZulu-Natal, takes place in Durban on Thursday.
Kariuki said the aim of the forum is to educate members of the public about the act, “which has not been in the public space for a very long time”.
“It is to create an opportunity to hear how the IEC manages the act, because it was accepted by the president last January, but all has since gone quiet,” he said.
Kariuki said he expected the IEC, which would be represented by its chief executive Sy Mamabolo to explain why the act had not been implemented. He said this would also give political parties time to question the IEC about the act.
The act, which has not yet come into effect, would force political parties to reveal their funders.
“We want to know (from the IEC) what would be the role of society once it is implemented because we have a role to hold the government and political parties accountable,” he said.
Kariuki said he hoped the parties would also like to know about the democracy fund, which the IEC had set up. He said the criteria for which the funds were being distributed to parties would also be revealed.
“Independent candidate also get funding from the IEC,” he said.