According to the EC, presidential candidates will be required to pay a filing fee of GH¢100,000, while parliamentary candidates will maintain a filing fee of GH¢10,000.

This decision was conveyed through a joint statement issued by the EC and representatives from various political parties following the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Thursday, March 7.

“The filing fees for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections will remain the same as in 2020,” an excerpt of the statement said.

The communiqué, signed by Michael Boadu, Acting Head of Public Affairs at the EC, also recognized the collaborative efforts of political party leaders in shaping the plans for the upcoming 2024 Election.

“The leaders of Political Parties made useful inputs into the 2024 Election Plan. The Commission indicated its willingness to implement a number of the suggestions.”

“Political Parties at the meeting unanimously commended the Electoral Commission for the preparation of a comprehensive calendar to govern the 2024 Elections,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, in a correlated update, the Electoral Commission (EC) has announced its decision to retain the use of indelible ink for the upcoming elections.

Additionally, the EC disclosed that the Limited Voter Registration Exercise will span 21 days, running from Tuesday, May 7th to Monday, May 27.

“The Electoral Commission will maintain the indelible ink as the electoral stain for the marking of voters in the 2024 General Elections. The Limited Voter Registration Exercise will be for a twenty-one (21) day period commencing, Tuesday 7th May to Monday 27th May, 2024.”

“The exercise will be conducted at the District Offices of the Electoral Commission and in difficult-to-access electoral areas.”

Below is the full statement

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The directive, this week, by the EC that all aspirants to the presidency should each pay GH¢100,000, has been met with mixed reactions.

On Tuesday evening, The Big Agenda on Adom TV put the issue out for analysis.

Speaking for CDD-Ghana, Research Analyst and team leader for elections, Rhoda Osei-Afful asserted that access to power should not be sold to anyone that is why “in our laws, there’s provision for the number of registered members.”

The Ghana Integrity Initiative, adding its weight to the resistance, insisted that before such fees can be tolerated, monies contributed by individuals and companies to support elections must be strictly scrutinised and controlled.

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According to the CSOs, there has been a notion created that to become a president one must be filthy rich, and the exorbitant filing fee seems to give grounds to that claim.

A flagbearer aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Bonsu, has given reasons why he failed to pick a nomination form within the stipulated time.

His spokesperson, Mohammed Alhassan said his boss did not pick forms because of a petition he and some other aspirants had filed to the party’s Council of Elders.

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He said Mr Bonsu will only make a decision after he has heard from the Council of Elders.

The deadline for picking of forms closed on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, with only five out of the 12 aspirants picking forms.

Mr Kojo Bonsu is among seven other aggrieved aspirants in the NDC flagbearer race that have filed the petition.

The petitioners had accused some members of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) of bias towards Mr Mahama.

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Alban Bagbin, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Sylvester Mensah, Stephen Atubiga, Nurideen Iddrissu, Goosie Tanoh, Kojo Bonsu, and Elikplim Agbemava, are the aspirants that are signatories to the petition to the Council.

They have described the fees for nomination forms and filing as unreasonable.

The aspirants proposed that fees for collection of forms be made GHS 5,000 whiles the filing fees are made GHS100,000.

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“We have sent our petition and hoping something better will come out from that petition. We believe in victory through unity and accountability and will continue to uphold and live by this no matter what comes our way,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has defended the decision by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to charge aspirants for its flagbearer positions GH¢420,000 filing and nomination fees.

In Mr Agyapong’s estimation, every one of the flagbearer hopefuls was capable of paying the said amounts.

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He has therefore described the those complaining about the charges as ‘liars’, who had the needed resources to pay the GHC 420,000 themselves even without the support of others.

“How can you be a President if you don’t have money to pay for filing fees? All of them are liars, Kojo Bonsu, Bagbin, Sylvester Mensah, Goozie Tanoh are all saying they can’t pay,” he queried on Adom TV’s “Badwam” Tuesday.

Mr Agyapong’s comments are in connection with what many have described as exorbitant fees the party is charging aspirants in their bid to lead the party into election 2020 as flagbearers.

RELATED ALSO: I can’t raise ‘killer’ GHS420K fee – Sylvester Mensah

The controversial MP opined that anyone willing to lead the country as President ought to have the ability to raise money.

“If you become president, within 4 years, all buildings in the country will be yours and so they should pay. If they can’t raise the money, then they should sit somewhere” he chided.

READ ALSO: I won’t pay any ‘killer’ GH20,000 Filing Fee- NDC Flagbearer hopeful [Audio]

Mr Spio-Garbrah, together with seven others – Alban Bagbin, Sylvester Mensah, Stephen Atubiga, Nurideen Iddrisu, Goosie Tanoh, Kojo Bonsu and Elikplim Agbemava, want the nomination fees, or fees for collection of forms, to be pegged at GH¢ 5,000 and filing fees reduced to GH¢100,000.

This situation has been condemned by the eight apart from former President John Mahama, whose nomination form was picked on Monday by some loyal party supporters.

A Communication team member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Solomon Nkansah, has shed some amount of light on the decision by his party to charge flagbearer hopefuls GHC400,000 filing fee.

According to Mr Nkansah, contrary to speculations that the figure was aimed at eliminating some contestants in the race, the aim was to help the party organise a successful presidential primary.

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Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem Friday, Mr Nkansah explained that the new fee was to help mobilise funds for the elections and not a means to compromise the social democrat principles of the party.

“Every aspect of democracy is expensive and this is an act to cater for the demands of the upcoming presidential primaries. Elections will be held at the constituency level hence, we must be able to mobilise enough funds to cater for all the constituencies,” he explained further.

He added that the new development is a swift move by the party’s national executives to restore the core values of the party.

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“This is a process every party will go through and for the NDC, this is to restore the party’s discipline and consciousness,” he added.

The National Democratic Congress, NDC, has set January 19, 2019, for its Presidential primaries.

READ: Atubiga calls on EOCO to arrest anyone who pays GHC400,000 as filing fee

Nomination forms for the aspirants will cost GHC20,000, however, the filing fee will cost GHC 400,000.

The NDC has announced that it would charge GHC 20,000.00 for nomination forms for the flagbearership race and GHC400,000.00 as a filing fee.

READ ALSO: Atubiga calls on EOCO to arrest anyone who pays GHC400,000 as filing fee

The decision appears to have irked Mr Namoale who said it was a means of selling the party to aspirants.

“This is wrong and clearly shows we are selling the party to the highest bidder which is not supposed to be so,” he said.

“We are social democrats and are expected to do things that will get the ordinary Ghanaian to join the party but this shows civil servants cannot be a part of our race because his or her entire pension savings cannot sum up to this amount [sic],” he explained.

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However, the deputy General Secretary, Barbara Asamoah, in the same interview objected to the assertion of Mr Namoale, attributing the High filing rate to economic hardships.

“Times have changed and things have become very expensive so we have to make room for the change. The candidates have to be resourceful and have the capability to carry us into victory 2020” she opined.

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“If you can’t raise GHC400,000.00 as a nomination fee to help organise successful primaries, then it is obvious you can’t help the party and can’t help yourself to run the 2020 campaign. Elections in Ghana are all about money and you need to prepare to meet the standard,” she added.

The NEC of the NDC, after a meeting on Thursday, agreed to the GH¢400,000 non-refundable filing fee for flag bearer aspirants of the party and GH¢ 20,000 non-refundable nomination form fee with the election set for January 19, 2019.

Mr Atubiga wants the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) to arrest any of the eleven aspirants of the party who pays the GHC 400,000 filing fees which the party is charging.

RELATED: GHS420k fee: ‘We’ll not tolerate auctioning of NDC’ – Bagbin

“Any politician who will claim that he paid the amount of money (GHC 400,000) must be arrested, EOCO must arrest that politician, where did that person get that amount of money,” he quizzed.

All male flagbearer aspirants of the NDC are expected to pay GHS400,000 as filing fees while female flagbearer aspirants pay GHS200,000.

Persons with disability aspiring to the flagbearers of the party will also pay GHS150,000 with nomination forms going for GHS20,000.

READ ALSO: NIA exceeds target in Adentan registration exercise

Parliamentary aspirants are expected to pay GHS20,000 as filing fees. Female parliamentary aspirants will pay half of the designated amounts

But to Atubiga says the amount will deter potential and capable persons who would want to lead the party into the 2020 general elections but do not have that amount to seal his candidature.

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“If you should calculate the amount, is close to $100,000, which is just filing fee and buying of the form, I will be surprised that an aspirant will go ahead to pay this fees not ask what we are doing to this party,” he said on Neat FM monitored by Adomonline.com.

The decision Adomonline.com has learned was taken by the National Executive Council (NEC) at their meeting on Wednesday.

Also, it was concluded that nomination forms should sell at GH¢20,000.

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However, female candidates will pay 50% less of the filing fee while there will be an additional reduction for aspirants with physical disabilities.

According to reports, nomination will be opened at a press conference to be held at the party’s head office today Thursday, November 28.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Primary Elections will be held on 19th January, 2019.

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There are about 11 people including former President John Mahama seeking to lead the NDC in the 2020 polls.

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Below is the breakdown of the NEC meeting

1. Presidential Primary Elections to be held on 19th January, 2019
2. Forms will cost Ghc20,000 per aspirants.
3. Filing fee to cost Ghc400,000. 50% less for women aspirants and additional reduction for disabled aspirants.
4. Decision is yet to be made on the Schedule for elections for Parliamentary Primary aspirants across the country.