DA dominates political donations ahead of 2026 local elections

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has once again emerged as the biggest recipient of political funding ahead of South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections, declaring more than R104 million in donations during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) says political parties declared a combined R116.78 million in donations between 1 April and 30 June 2026, providing an early indication of the scale of political fundraising expected ahead of the elections on 4 November.

The DA accounted for approximately 89% of all compliant donations declared during the quarter.

DA takes lion’s share

The DA declared R104 034 185.25 in donations, consisting of R98.75 million in cash donations and R5.28 million in in-kind contributions.

Among the party’s biggest monetary donations were:

• R30 million from Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd
• R25 million from Fynbos Kapitaal (Pty) Ltd
• R10 million from D Barnes
• R5 million from R Slack Diamond
• R5 million from J Slack Jell
• R5 million from M Moshal
• R5 million from Lombard Consolidated
• R2.5 million from Kerry Road Trust
• R2 million from Predator Securities

The DA also received substantial in-kind contributions, including advertising, staffing, legal services and campaign-related assets.

These included R2.78 million from Voices of South Africa Foundation NPC, R1.16 million from the Make a Difference Trust, and R815,891.08 from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

ActionSA, Labour Party and RISE Mzansi

ActionSA declared R5.5 million, including R5 million from Martin Moshal and R500 000 from Siyaya Free To Air TV.

The IEC flagged a compliance issue involving the Siyaya donation because the corresponding declaration from the donor remains outstanding.

The Labour Party of South Africa declared R5 million from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), with the donation made on 30 June.

RISE Mzansi reported R2.25 million, comprising R1.25 million from Ungani Investments and R1 million from Captrust Investments.

ANC donations under scrutiny

The ANC does not feature in the R116.78 million total of compliant donations published by the IEC.

However, the Commission said it had identified donations totalling R15.27 million requiring further compliance action.

This includes:

• R270 000 from Captrust Investment
• R15 million from Batho Batho Trust

The IEC said deficiencies included missing dual disclosures, a failure by donors or recipients to submit required declarations, insufficient proof of transactions, missing supporting documents and late reporting.

The Commission stressed that this does not mean the donations themselves are unlawful. Rather, the issue currently concerns compliance with the statutory disclosure and verification requirements.

The ANC has been issued with a section 15 direction to address the outstanding issues.

Failure to comply could result in further regulatory action, including the withholding of future allocations from political funding mechanisms and potentially a referral to the Electoral Court.

More political money expected

The latest figures come as South Africa heads towards the 4 November 2026 local government elections.

The IEC expects political fundraising and campaign expenditure to increase significantly in the coming months as parties ramp up advertising, digital campaigns, political events, voter mobilisation, transport and campaign materials.

The Commission said it would pay particular attention to large donations, late declarations, discrepancies between donor and party disclosures, third-party expenditure, foreign funding and supporting documentation.

With more than R116 million already declared in just three months, the first-quarter figures offer an early glimpse of the financial battle that is likely to accompany the race for votes across South Africa.