GH¢50,000 filing fee: 'Put your money where your mouth is;' minister tells PPP

Health minister Alex Segbefia says the GH¢50,000 filing fees demanded from presidential aspirants by the Electoral Commission is not excessive and may weed out parties that are not electorally viable.

He didn't think complaints that the amount is excessive are properly placed because “There is a certain caveat...if you reach a certain percentage of votes, the money is refunded,” he said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Thursday.

The Progressive Peoples’ Party (PPP), a third-force party, has challenged the filing fee at an Accra High court. The deadline for the submission of forms ends by the close of work Thursday.

The PPP filed a motion for interlocutory injunction yesterday praying the court to restrain the EC “their respective agents, assigns, privies, servants or workmen from collecting or receiving the filing fees for the conduct of the 2016 elections, pending the final determination of the substantive matter”.

The PPP, backed by the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP), maintain that the five-fold increase from GH¢10,000 in 2012 to GH¢50,000 is “discriminatory, arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable’’.

The PPP believes the fee will work against a citizen's political right to vote and be voted for as guaranteed by the 1992 constitution.

In a discussion on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, however, the minister with the governing NDC rejected the claim that the fee is exploitative.

According to the minister, the fee looks exorbitant to those who want to contest the presidential elections “just for the sake of it”.

The charge is a test for tough-talking and overly optimistic candidates in the presidential elections to ‘put their money where their mouth is,” he said.

Per the directive issued by the EC, a presidential candidate who secures 25 per cent of the presidential votes and a parliamentary candidate also secures 12.5 per cent of votes in a constituency will get a refund.

“If you believe you have the vote of the masses then you have nothing to fear,” Alex Segbefia threw a challenge.

He said the fee should not necessarily be borne by the presidential candidate because political parties are supposed to collect dues from their members.

"Why does everybody think that anyone is asking one person to pay? It is a political party. We collect dues....the idea of all-inclusiveness means everybody comes together to ensure that filing fees are paid.

He said although the constitution guarantees the right to be voted for, it could be stretched to "a point of absurdity" if an avalanche of several candidates file to contest the presidency.

It would mean the ballot could be a very long and incovenient voting material, he suggested.

"Every single candidate ....creates an extra administrative cost for the EC and for the taxpayer so if you want to take it to a point of absurdity you could simply say my right is such that it should be free".

The filing fee notwithstanding, at least 23 persons have picked presidential nomination forms.

This includes the two favourites, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidates.

Dark horses, the PPP and the PNC have also picked forms while serveral parties deemed also-rans, have also picked up nomination forms.

They include the NDP, the United Development System Party (UDSP) and the United Love Party (ULP).

Others are the Independent People’s Party (IPP), the United Progressive Party (UPP), the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), the United Front Party (UFP), the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), the APC, the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD).

The independent candidates are Mr Jacob Osei-Yeboah, Mr Kwaku Antwi Owusu, Mr Lawrence Yamil Nketia, Mr Kwame Asiedu Walker, Chief Dr Yaw Kumi, John Alex Hamah and Major Ibrahim Rida (retd).

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|Edwin Appiah|[email protected]