Political Parties Finance Act (Chapter 2:11)

POLITICAL PARTIES FINANCE ACT

Acts 4/2001, 22/2001 (s. 4), 14/2002 (s. 2)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Section
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
PART II
STATE FINANCING OF POLITICAL PARTIES
3. Financing of political parties.
4. Application for payment of moneys to qualifying political parties.
5. Moneys to be paid from Consolidated Revenue Fund.
PART III
DONATIONS TOPOLITICAL PARTIES,MEMBERS AND CANDIDATES
6. Prohibition of foreign funding.
7. Solicitation of donations by foreigners prohibited.
PART IV
GENERAL
8. Regulations.
9. Repeals and savings
10. Transitional provision.
AN ACT to provide for the financing of political parties by the State; to prohibit foreign donations
to political parties and candidates; to repeal the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:04]; and to
provide for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing.
[Date of commencement: 11th May, 2001.]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Political Parties (Finance) Act [Chapter 2:11].
2 Interpretation
In this Act—
“by-election” means an election for the purpose of filling a casual vacancy in the membership of Parliament
or a local authority;
[Definition as amended by section 3 of Act 14 of 2002]
“candidate” means a person nominated for the election to the office of President, or to Parliament or a local
authority, whether standing as a member of a political party or as an independent;
[Definition as amended by section 3 of Act 14 of 2002]
“donation”, in relation to—
(a) a political party or candidate, means any gift of money or property, subscription or affiliation
fees, and money spent otherwise than by a political party or candidate to meet any expenses
incurred by the party or candidate, and includes a loan, property or service provided to a political
party or candidate otherwise than on commercial terms or below market valuation;
(b) a member of a political party, means any donation described in paragraph (a) which is made for
the purpose of securing the election of that member to any office in or for any purpose connected
with the activities of that political party;
[Definition as amended by section 3 of Act 14 of 2002]
“elected member of Parliament” means a member of Parliament referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1)
of section 38 of the Constitution;
[Definition as amended by section 3 of Act 14 of 2002]
“foreign donation” means a donation other than a local donation;
“general election” means a general election of members of Parliament held in terms of section 58 of the
Constitution;
“local donation” means a donation by—
(a) a permanent resident or citizen of Zimbabwe domiciled in Zimbabwe; or
(b) a company incorporated in Zimbabwe which carries on business in Zimbabwe; or
(c) any association of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated, consisting exclusively of
permanent residents or citizens of Zimbabwe, domiciled in Zimbabwe;
“Minister” means the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs or any other Minister to whom the
President may from to time assign the administration of this Act;
“Parliamentary year” means the period beginning on the day after the last polling day of the most recent
general election and ending on the anniversary of that polling day; or, in any year in which Parliament is
dissolved, ending on the date of such dissolution;
“political party” means an association of persons the primary object of which is to secure the election of one
or more of its members to a local authority or Parliament;
PART II
STATE FINANCING OFPOLITICAL PARTIES
3 Financing of political parties
(1) Subject to this Act, every political party shall be entitled in each Parliamentary year to receive from the
State the sums of money that are payable to it in terms of this Act.
(2) The Minister shall, as soon as is practicable, and in any case no later than thirty days after the beginning
of the financial year, publish, with the approval of the Minister responsible for finance, a notice in the Gazette
specifying the total amount of moneys appropriated for all political parties and the amount that shall be paid to
each individual political party in terms of this Act.
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), each political party whose candidates received at least five per centum