National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nana Ofori Owusu believes the GHS100,000 filing fee for presidential hopefuls is an attempt by the Electoral Commission to block some aspirants from the race.
The GHS100,000 filing fee for presidential candidates is said to be a 100% increment from the GHS50,000 fee charged in 2016.
There have been varied opinions on the amount set, with many calling for a reduction.
Sharing his opinion on The Big Issue on Citi TV/Citi FM, the PPP chairman insists that the high filing fee is a deliberate and irrational attempt by the EC to frustrate others from contesting for the highest office in Ghana.
“They are putting stringent measures in place to keep out others from coming. They have set up stumbling blocks for others who mean well to want to contribute to the political discourse. And the fairness and the equity of our nation demands that this thing that the Electoral Commission has put there must be removed because it is not the best approved for filtering out people. ”
“The Constitution does not say you must have big money to want to run for president, the constitution only talks of 40 years and of a sound mind. So where are these impediments being put in the way to disallow people wanting to exercise their franchise.”
EC defends GHS100,000 filing fee for presidential aspirants
Meanwhile, the electoral body has justified the increment in filing fees for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
A Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare insisted that the increment is in tandem with the value of the currency.
“In each particular year, it is important you look at the value of GHS50,000 in 2016, then compare it to GHS50,000 in 2020 then you will notice that the Commission has not increased it much. And even when you look at the [filing fee for] parliamentary [aspirants], the GHS10,000, you will realise that the Commission has reduced the price because we all know that GHS10,000 in 2016, is not the same as GHS10,000 in 2020. The Commission is doing this to promote multiparty democracy.”
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