Political parties need to pay thousands of rand to contest 2019 elections
Political parties hoping to get a seat in the National or a Provincial Assembly will need to pay between R45 000 and R605 000.
Following yesterday’s proclamation of the national and provincial elections on May 8, political parties will be seriously campaigning for votes over the next 70 days.
They will also need to pay R200 000 to contest the elections of the national assembly and R45 000 per provincial assembly, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). This means that political parties wishing to have representation across the country will need to pay R605 000.
The fees have stayed the same as during the 2014 elections.
If parties fail to secure a seat in any of the assemblies they will forfeit their deposit to the National Revenue Fund.
According to the IEC, the number of votes required to secure a seat depends on the voter turnout during the elections.
During the previous elections, parties needed 45 892 votes to guaranteed them a seat in the National Assembly and between 13 627 and 59 219 votes for a Provincial Assembly.
Yesterday’s proclamation of the elections means that no new names will be added to the voters’roll and that political parties can submit their candidate nominations.
READ: Elections 2019: 700 000 new voters added to the voters roll
During the 2014 national and provincial elections, a total of 2 089 candidates were nominated for the National Assembly and 6 562 for the provincial legislatures and regional lists.
South Africans who are planning to vote outside of the country at embassies and consulates, will need to notify the chief electoral officer. They have 14 days to submit the VEC10 form, which is available on www.elections.org.za.
