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Bridgette Dzogbenuku, aspiring to the presidency of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), described as ridiculous the decision of the Ghana Election Commission (EC) to charge 100,000 GHS as filing fees.
According to her, such a high price for simply submitting a nomination to lead a political party in the 2020 elections further strengthens the monetization of the country’s democracy.
“I mean it’s ridiculous. In fact, I was listening to other debates on the subject and if you expect us to get a GHS100,000, we are still dealing with the same subject of monetizing our politics and money-determined politics. And so if you can’t pay that filing fee, it disqualifies them even if they’re capable of running and being president, ”he said.
The EC announced on Monday that presidential candidates who wish to participate in the 2020 general elections will have to pay a filing fee of ¢ 100,000, while parliamentary candidates will pay ¢ 10,000.
Announcing the opening of the nomination for presidential and parliamentary hopefuls, Mensa said the forms are accessible online and must be completed and submitted between October 5-9.
Defending the amount to be charged by the Commission, the EC Vice President in charge of corporate services, Dr. Bossman Eric Asare, said the amount was generous, stating that this year’s rates were only a slight adjustment to the rates of the last year.
“We don’t increase because we can, but frankly, every four years we adjust prices when it comes to nomination fees.
“So in 2012 presidential it was almost ¢ 10,000, in 2016 it reached ¢ 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 that you look at the value of ¢ 50,000 in 2016 and compare it with the same amount so far and you will know that the Commission has not increased it that much. ” he said.
However, the PPP standard-bearer says the amount is ridiculous and should be reviewed.
She hopes that civil society organizations will take up the issue and demand a reduction in the fee.
“Most of the time CSOs come and talk about it and I think they have already talked about how politics is monetized,” he said.
He added that if nothing is done about it, political parties will have no choice but to seek funding from any available avenue, sometimes from dubious sources, which in turn can culminate in acts of corruption, if the political party is elected to the government.
“If someone is going to raise GHS100,000 to put on the ballot to lead a political party, they have to find that money and that’s when we start to turn to all kinds of people to fund us and ask for their pound. of meat after the elections, ”he said.
According to her, such huge amounts for the filing fee only make the country’s democracy sink to the ground.
Despite the challenge of the high fee, Bridgette Dzogbenuku is hopeful that her party and the entire population of Ghana will be willing to contribute to pay for it on October 5.
“We hope that Ghanaians believe in what we bring and if we go drink in hand or if we say ‘MoMo us GHS1’, we hope that people are willing to do that because we will. We will raise funds from everyone, ”he said.
