EC Sets Ghc100,000 As Filing Fee For Presidential Candidates

Ghana’s Electoral Commission has announced that in the 2020 elections, a Candidate aspiring to be President must pay money huge enough to be used to buy a house as filing fee.

Presidential Candidates will have to cough a whopping Ghc100,000 (1billion old cedis) as filing fee.

Mrs. Jean Mensah, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission announced the fees today while announcing the opening of nominations for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections today.

Parliamentary Candidates on the other hand are to pay Ghc10,000 each as filing fee.

The Ghc100,000 figure is jump from Ghc50,000 that had been charged by the EC for the 2016 Presidential election, over which the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), remonstrated over.

WhatsUp News is in firm intel that the outrageous price tag that Jean Adukwei Mensah has slapped on democracy is intentional and coached by Flagstaff House.

According to sources, the plan is to strangulate the pockets of smaller parties and independent Candidates so that they can run to the Akufo-Addo Jubilee House for help. This way, the President will have the latitude to demand electoral allegiance in exchange for being plied with the largesse of State money.

But the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare, has already jumped to the defense of the astronomical amount saying the Ghc100,000 filing fee is rather a generous amount.

According Dr. Asare, the depreciation of thye cedi is to blame for the huge filing fee.

“We did not increase because we can, but frankly, every four years we adjust the prices as far as the nomination fees are concerned.

“So in 2012 presidential was almost ¢10,000, 2016, it came to ¢50,000 and in 2020 it is now ¢100,000. And those of you who know the value of money in each particular year, it is important you look at the value of ¢50,000  in 2016 and compare to the same amount to now and you will know that the Commission has not increased it that much,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Jean Mensah said nomination forms for both presidential and parliamentary aspirants can be accessed online.

“Each political party would be given a unique password and the password would be given to the general secretaries so they can access the forms online.

“Also, Independent Candidates will be given passwords so they can access the website and fill the form between October 5 to October 9.”