Law:

Section:

Fundamental Rights--- ----Access to information---Scope---Elections---Private funding of political parties and independent candidates---Significance of voter having access to information about private funding of candidates and parties---Appellant-organization sought information relating to the private funding of some political parties [in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (2 of 2002) (South Africa) ("the Act")]---Taking advantage of the certain provisions of the Act, some of those parties refused to disclose the funding information, which led to the appellant initiating an application in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of the Act---Appellant argued that the Constitution [Republic of South Africa] imposed an obligation on Parliament to pass legislation that provided for the recordal and disclosure of information on the private funding of political parties and independent candidates; that the Act was national legislation to give effect to a citizen's right of access to information, but it had failed to do the same---High Court concluded that the Act's failure to provide for access to information on private funding was a deficiency that rendered the Act inconsistent with the provisions of Ss. 32, 7(2) & 19 of the Constitution [Republic of South Africa]---Validity---[Per Mogoeng CJ: State was under an obligation to do everything reasonably possible to give practical and meaningful expression to the right of access to information and the right to vote (sections 32, 19 and 7(2) of the Constitution of Republic of South Africa)---Exercise of the right to vote must be an informed choice, and there was a vital connection between the proper exercise of the right to vote and the right of access to information---Without access to information, the ability of citizens to make responsible political decisions and participate meaningfully in public life was undermined---Any information that completed the picture of a political party or an independent candidate in relation to who they really were or could be influenced by, in what way and to what extent, was essential for the proper exercise of the voter's "will" on which the government was…

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