CAPE TOWN, Western Cape — The GOOD Party is preparing to formally challenge an Electoral Court judgment that found the organization breached the Political Party Funding Act over an alleged undisclosed R900 000 donation. Secretary-General Brett Herron confirmed the party’s intention to appeal the ruling, maintaining that the findings are both factually and legally incorrect.
The Electoral Court recently found that the GOOD Party and its leadership failed to comply with national electoral funding regulations. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) argued that the party failed to reflect the R900 000 contribution in its annual financial statements for the relevant period, resulting in a R90 000 administrative fine.
However, Herron strongly disputes the judgment, noting that the Electoral Court reached its decision in chambers without hearing oral arguments or allowing for the cross-examination of evidence. He argued that the IEC applied the law incorrectly and that the court’s finding was based almost entirely on the allegations of a former national organizer of the party, who has since been expelled.
According to Herron, who serves as the party’s accounting officer, the alleged donation was directed to a communications firm for t-shirts that the party never received. He stated that the transaction appeared to be an arrangement between an apparent donor, a supplier, and the former party member, and that the funds never entered the GOOD Party’s bank account.
Because the former national organizer failed to disclose the procurement to the party’s administration, Herron emphasized that he was unaware of the transaction and therefore unable to report it to the IEC, as required by law.
The IEC’s case relied on a report from an independent firm of investigators. Herron noted that this report, in turn, relied entirely on the allegations of the expelled former member. He also raised concerns about the IEC’s reluctance to share the full investigation with the party, citing requests for non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements that the GOOD Party found perplexing.
To prevent such occurrences, Herron explained that the party amended its constitution to make non-compliance with the Political Party Funding Act a disciplinary offense. As a result, the party has already terminated two public representatives: the aforementioned national organizer and a councillor in the Drakenstein Municipality, both of whom procured funding without disclosing it to the accounting officer.
Herron illustrated the difficulty of policing internal dishonesty by citing a separate incident where a Northern Cape councillor organized a R5 000 donation via cash send, which was only discovered because the councillor self-reported. He argued that no internal tracking system can be entirely foolproof against deliberate, underhanded conduct by individuals acting outside party protocols.
Despite the ongoing legal battle and active campaign operations, Herron stated that the dispute has not hindered the party’s work or affected its relationships with coalition partners.
The GOOD Party is committed to fighting the ruling on principle. Herron confirmed that the party will seek leave to appeal from the Electoral Court. If denied, their attorneys have advised seeking leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal to protect the party’s credibility and uphold a zero-tolerance stance on funding breaches.
In his closing remarks, Herron called for equitable enforcement of electoral laws, questioning why the IEC does not exercise the same level of vigilance toward political parties that declare zero donations in their annual returns, yet demonstrably possess significant resources to fill stadiums, produce extensive merchandise, fly leaders across the country, and fund prolonged litigation up to the Constitutional Court.
