Filing fee should’ve been GHC120,000 – Ayariga

The GHC50,000 filing fee set by the Electoral Commission for presidential nominees for the December elections should have been pegged at GHC120,000, the All People’s Congress (APC), led by Hassan Ayariga, has said.

At an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held in Accra on Thursday September 8, the EC announced that parliamentary candidates would have to pay GHC10,000 to file their nomination while presidential candidates would be expected to part with GHC50,000.

While the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and other parties like the Convention People’s Party (CPP) have described the fees as exorbitant, the governing NDC said it was OK while the APC said the filing fee for presidential aspirants was too small for a nominee that wants to occupy the highest office of the land.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Razak Kojo Opoku, the APC said: “The All People's Congress (APC) led by Dr Hassan Ayariga gladly accepts to pay the GHC50,000 filing fee for our presidential candidate to contest the 7 December, 2016 general elections. The Electoral Commission has done well with such a decision but we honestly think that the presidential filing fee should have been GHC120, 000, because to become the first gentleman of the land there must be a relatively high standard to comply with.

“The party equally believes that our competent parliamentary [nominees] who are in a better position to easily win the parliamentary seats for the party shall be able to raise the GHC10,000 to file successfully with the Electoral Commission.”