South African Political Parties Declare R97 Million in Three-Month Period As DA Tops Donation List

• The Independent Electoral Commission revealed how much money political parties declared ahead of the Local Government Elections
• The Democratic Alliance (DA) declared the most over a three-month period, which covered January to March 2026
• The IEC questioned a figure declared by RISE Mzansi, while the African National Congress also has to account for some declarations

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

GAUTENG – South Africa’s political parties have declared over R97 million in donations ahead of the local government elections, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) topping the lot.

This was confirmed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa’s latest disclosure report, which covered January to March 2026. The IEC's report noted that political parties declared R94.8 million in cash donations and R2.4 million in non-monetary contributions.

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The 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE) will take place on 4 November 2026, where a total of 257 municipalities will be contested across South Africa's nine provinces.

DA rakes in R57.3 million

Of the R97.2 million raised during the three-month reporting period, it was the DA that raked in the most. The party declared a total of R57.3 million, which amounts to almost 60% of all the donations disclosed.

R54.9 million of that figure was monetary donations, while R2.4 million was in-kind donations. Substantial donations came from Main Street 1564 (Pty) Ltd, Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd, M. Slack and Fynbos Kapitaal (Pty) Ltd, with each of these donors contributing between R10 million and R13 million.

ActionSA secures R9.9 million, while ANC faces issues

ActionSA also secured a large amount of funding, with their declared donations totalling R9.9 million. The party’s largest donation came from businessman Martin Moshal, who contributed R5 million. Party leader Herman Mashaba also contributed approximately R2.9 million in cumulative donations.

The African National Congress (ANC) also surpassed the R10 million mark in donations, but it was submitted as a late declaration. The ANC has also been asked to account for declarations worth R770,000 that had not been acknowledged by the party when the report was published.

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RISE Mzansi’s R30 million questioned

The IEC is also seeking more information about an amount of R30 million declared by RISE Mzansi. The party stated that the amount came following the conversion of a previous loan into a donation.

The IEC is now examining whether the terms of the loan conversion fully comply with the Political Party Funding Act.

South Africans weigh in on the declarations.

Social media users weighed in on the confirmed declarations, sharing mixed reactions to them.

Smangaliso Sobhuza said:

“Rebecca Oppenheimer remains hopeful with the 0.43% party, Rise Mzansi.”

Ashley Ramroop added:

“You have to love how the super wealthy play roulette with citizens and call it philanthropy. They were given money by the Oppenheimers.”

Desiree O'Rie urged:

“Identify the funders, end of story.”

Rendani Netshirungulu asked:

“Who are these funders who believe in RISE Mzansi?”

Fabian Mossie Daniels stated:

“It’s because no one wants to fund the ANC.”

34 new parties to contest LGE

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Briefly News reported that the IEC revealed that more political parties will be contesting the 2026 elections.

The IEC held a press briefing on 26 August to provide an update on the preparations for the local government elections.

The IEC's Chief Electoral Commissioner noted that the commission registered 34 new political parties since the 2024 general elections.

Source: Briefly News