Parties Oppose Nomination Fee

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, 29 September 2008
Political parties in the country have protested against the nomination fees announced by the Electoral Commission for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in December.

The EC, in a statement issued yesterday and signed by Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, Director of Elections, fixed the nomination fee for the presidential candidates at GH¢5,000 and that for Parliamentary candidates at GH¢500. But the parties say "the figures are too high".

A joint petition from the parties titled "Increase in nomination fees" and sent to the EC, which was received by David Kanga, a Deputy Commissioner, asked the EC to consider the current inflation rate before fixing the fees.

Mr Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, flag-bearer of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), who spoke on behalf of the other parties, said they are asking the EC to consider the current economic situation by using the 18 per cent inflation rate to fix the fees.

He said in 2004, the nomination fee for Presidential candidates was fixed at ¢20 million (GH¢2,000) while that for Parliamentary candidates was ¢500,000 (GH¢50).

This year, he added, "the EC has increased the whole thing ten fold".

He said; "The EC is not a revenue-generating body, neither is it a tax imposing agency.

"We think the current nomination fees are very astronomical".

Asked whether the EC was bound by law to inform political parties about fixing of nomination fees, Mr Ward-Brew said "we are the major stakeholders. In 2004, we, together with the EC, discussed the fees at the Inter- party Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting".

"This time around, the EC did not consult us and that is why we are asking them to reconsider their decision.

"We all wish to see a free, fair, transparent, credible and successful election and the EC should not make things difficult for us."

The parties which were signatory to the petition included the DPP, NDC, PNC, NPP, CPP, URP, GCPP and Egle Party.

Dr Kwabena Agyei represented the NDC, Emmanuel Wilson, the PNC, Antwi Agyei, NPP and Kwabena Domfeh, the CPP.

The rest were Kofi Wayo for the URP, Dan Lartey for the GCPP and Alhassan Benneh for the Egle Party.