Mogale presented the statement, stating that the Constitutional Court can interpret and check the constitutionality of laws and legislation passed by Parliament.
“The George Soros-funded groupings must come to terms with the fact that Parliament has written the law on independent candidates,” he said.
Mogale added that the Oppenheimers were also funding these NGOs, such as My Vote Counts, Right to Know, and the Helen Suzman Foundation, to name a few.
My Vote Count said the EFF was attempting to delegitimise opposition to the bill by “incorrectly claiming that civil society organisations like ours, who have opposed the bill, are beholden to donors with narrow interests and should not be heard.”
“To be clear, as a small donor-funded NGO, we are aware of our role in society. We are funded by a range of donors, all of whom can be viewed on our website. Our donors have no material influence on our campaigns and political positions. Philanthropy is an acceptable practise in a democracy, if there is transparency and accountability,” they said.
The NGO further had a go at the EFF, saying that the party then voted for what they term a fatally flawed Electoral Amendment Bill, “the contents of which are an insult to the electorate and its process undermines participatory democracy.”
“Our intention was to oppose the prioritisation of political party interests over the interests of the people. Our interest is to deepen democracy, not undermine it. ”
Parliament has reneged on its obligation to ensure meaningful public participation in the legislative process. The arrogant statements by the EFF laid bare this contempt for democracy. Their tactics are nothing but symptoms of political paranoia and a poverty of imagination.”
The NGO said the party’s tactics are not new in South African politics, and that they have stemmed from a tradition of “political paranoia, where the political elite use silencing tactics to attempt to delegitimise activism and divert attention from their failures.”