The DA has emerged as the largest beneficiary of political party donations this quarter, while the ANC has been flagged for non-compliance.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has published the political party donation disclosures for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. Covering April 1 to June 30, the report revealed that political parties declared a total of R116.78-million in compliant donations.

The commission said the surge in financial mobilisation coincides with the formal proclamation of November 4 as the official date for the 2026 Local Government Elections.

According to the commission, the formalisation of the election date is expected to trigger a significant increase in political fundraising and campaign expenditure as parties intensify voter outreach.

The DA accounted for about 89% of all declared compliant funding, totalling R104 034 185.25.

The DA's funding includes R98.75-million in monetary donations and R5.28-million of in-kind donations. Major corporate and individual contributors include R30-million from Fynbos Ekwiteit; R25-million from Fynbos Kapitaal; R10-million from D Barnes; R5-million each from R Slack Diamond and J Slack Jell; and R5-million each from M Moshal and Lombard Consolidated.

The party also disclosed significant in-kind assistance for advertising, staffing, legal services, and assets, including R2.78-million from the Voices of South Africa Foundation NPC and two vehicles valued at R528 655 from Mr and Mrs T Madilonga.

The IEC noted that several other political parties registered compliant funding during the three-month period, with ActionSA declaring R5.5-million, driven by a R5-million contribution from Martin Moshal and R500 000 from Siyaya Free To Air TV.

However, the IEC has issued a direction to ActionSA as the donor declaration from Siyaya TV remains outstanding.

Newly formed party, Labour Party of South Africa, launched in early 2024 by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), received R5-million directly from the union on June 30.

RISE Mzansi disclosed a total of R2.25-million in fully compliant monetary donations from Ungani Investments (R1.25-million) and Captrust Investments (R1-million)

Meanwhile, the ANC failed to have any of its current or historical donations included in the official compliant total.

The IEC identified severe compliance deficiencies regarding R15 270 000 in recent ANC funding submissions.

This comprises R15-million from the Batho Batho Trust and R270 000 from Captrust Investment.

Furthermore, the party submitted late reports for several large donations tied to the previous financial year, including R15-million of in-kind donations in April last year and a R15-million monetary donation in December last year, from Batho Batho Trust.

The IEC noted R10-million from Botho Botho Commercial Enterprises, in December 2025 and R1-million from Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Valumax Projects.

The commission noted that the ANC and its donors failed basic compliance tests. Deficiencies included late reporting, failure to provide dual disclosures, and missing proof of the underlying transactions.

While the IEC clarified that these omissions do not automatically render the underlying donations unlawful, it has issued a formal direction to the ANC to rectify the issues.

Failure to comply could lead to severe penalties, including the withholding of funds from the Political Representatives Fund and Multi-Party Democracy Fund, or referral to the Electoral Court.

The IEC stressed that maintaining public confidence ahead of the upcoming local government elections requires absolute “transparency and accountability”.

"The Commission remains committed to ensuring that increased political funding activity is accompanied by effective transparency, accountability and compliance," the IEC stated, reinforcing that it will continue to closely monitor disclosures and enforce regulatory measures across the political spectrum.