The filing of nominations for all aspirants in the December 7 general elections begins today, Monday, October 5.
According to the EC, the five-day event will end on Friday, October 9, with the forms already available on the Commission’s website.
In an earlier release to announce the date, Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa said while the filing fee for Presidential candidate has been fixed at GH¢100,000, Parliamentary candidates are expected to pay GH¢10,000 through a bankers’ draft.
Among other things, Mrs. Mensa had explained that the filled and endorsed forms must then be submitted together with requirement documentation including; four passport-sized photographs on a red background, a statutory declaration, an introductory letter from the political parties, and a tax clearance certificate to the Chairperson of the Commission.
She said unlike previous years when the presentation of the forms was done amidst jubilations and cheers, the Commission would not entertain more than five people present during the filing process due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
This follows earlier reservations over the amount quoted by the EC as the filing fee for Presidential aspirants.
Some five political parties including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the All People’s Congress (APC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) have all described the amount as outrageous.
The parties had argued that the EC was making “a business out of the country’s democracy and selling Ghana to the highest bidder” but the NPP and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) disagree.
During an interview on JoyNews, the Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen had stated that a party that cannot raise the said amount has no business participating in the upcoming polls.
“If you cannot raise ¢100,000 please get out. Those who can mobilise will pay,” he said while backing the EC.
Meanwhile, to security and integrity of the nomination process, each political party was provided with a unique password to enable them access the password-protected nomination forms which became accessible on Monday, September, 14.
Madam Jean Mensa had also added that Independent candidates will also be issued with unique passwords.