South Africa: candidates obliged to declare campaign donations

South Africa's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that campaign donations must be declared.

This decision is aimed at fighting alleged corruption cases that come ahead of an internal vote by the ruling ANC party to name its president and candidate for the next presidential election.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign financing for the party leadership sparked controversy in 2017. 

He was accused of hiding a donation of 500,000 rands ($35,000 at the time) from Parliament. Under the current rule, the declaration of donations in campaigns "for positions in political parties" is not mandatory.

This measure "undermines the Ethics Act and the conflict of interest regime", whose provisions are "essential for transparency and the fight against rampant corruption", the Supreme Court ruled in a decision copied to AFP.

Mr. Ramaphosa, 69, had been finally cleared by the Constitutional Court and had taken over the reins of the country in February 2018 after the resignation of Jacob Zuma, implicated in scandals. He has made the fight against corruption his main focus.

However, the head of state is in turmoil around a murky burglary case, months before the ANC decides whether to present him as a candidate for a second term in 2024.

He is accused of concealing from the police and tax authorities a burglary in 2020 at one of his properties, during which large sums of cash were found hidden in furniture.

An investigation is underway and Parliament has appointed an independent commission whose findings could lead to a vote in Parliament to remove Ramaphosa from office.

In South Africa, the impeachment of the head of state is subject to a two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly. The ANC holds more than two-thirds of the seats.