GH¢100,000 filing fee: NPP is in bed with the EC – Kofi Koranteng

Independent Presidential aspirant, Kofi Koranteng, says the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) government has tagged with the Electoral Commission(EC) to remove unwanted presidential aspirants from the electoral process.

This, he believes, is the reason for the EC pegging the filing fee for presidential aspirants at GH¢100,000.

“The NPP are in bed with the EC telling them that we want to prune this process; get these guys out of here, let’s make it GH¢100,000 so we don’t have any distractions,” he said to Joy News.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana recently announced an increase in filing fees towards the upcoming December polls.

Mr Koranteng believes the fee charged by the EC denies people their right to be voted for.

On whether or not he would be able to raise the amount, Kofi was hopeful that the good people of Ghana will support him in his quest to become president.

“This is not my endeavour, I am here as a servant to represent the people of Ghana. I am hoping the Ghanaian people will call and say ‘Kofi, I wrote a cheque for that GH¢100,000. Pay this and let’s move forward with this thing.”

The announcement of the filing fee has aroused criticisms for various stakeholders.

Head of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at the Center for Democratic Development (CCD) in Ghana Dr Kojo Pumpuni Asante has criticised the Electoral Commission’s filing fees for presidential aspirants.

Dr Kojo Asante said the EC should set a fee that covers the cost for service rendered and not use the opportunity to generate funds for its operations.