Are High Filing Fees Not Genesis Of Corruption In Politics?

As important as election to select representatives are in Democratic governance, must this selection be that expensive as if nothing else matter?

1. If a person A, is popular and the most suitable among a selection for a position, and conversely the opponent B is that incompetent, how much advert is necessary to promote them A, and who should the target group be, considering that A is already known and liked?

2. In the case of the incumbent, if action speaks louder than words, what else would government want to campaign about when it is using state media everyday to show and tell what she is doing?

3. If agreed that little promotion is needed, then why should a political party for example charge as high a filing fee as GHS300,000 for Parliamentary Primaries selections only in our developing Ghanaian economy? With 275 constituencies in Ghana now, even if half pay this much with the rest getting varied reductions, one may wonder if helicopters instead of cars will be used for the campaign!

4. Is democracy not surreptitiously being transformed to OLIGARCHY ("Monecracy") if money is that prioritised in politics?

5. If the party has members that are devoted, should there be the need to rely on the nominee MPs to fund the election campaign directly, when that gives the impression of buying their position? Then again on what basis would a party boast of popularity if members and supporters are not willing to spread their good story for free?

6. If a position is perceived as purchased, so would its products be considered for sale, hence government contracts are tainted with kickbacks, over-invoicing, favouritism, etc.

7. If an opposition had the welfare of Ghanaians at heart, could it not undertake some projects to help an area, even though not the incumbent government.

8. Democracy may be expensive as any good thing is, but it is unwise to overspend on it to show its expensiveness, rather than cutting ones coat according to one's size.

9. The heavy investment in election sometimes gives the impression that Democracy begins and ends with the choosing of a representative; is it so? If not what efforts are being made to educate the masses to understand governance to make meaningful contributions?

10. Is the seriousness of Parliamentarians' work not questionable since majority have not cared about acquiring an office either in Accra or their respective constituencies, or even create websites for interaction with their electorate for participation in governance, over two decades into uninterrupted Ghana's 4th Republican Democracy!