Election 2020: EU observers mission describes EC’s filing fee as ‘unreasonable’

The European Union observers in Ghana’s election have described the filing fee by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) in the run-up to the December 7th 2020 General Elections as ‘unreasonably high.’

Prior to the General Elections, Presidential candidates wishing to contest the election were required to pay a filing fee of ¢100,000 while parliamentary candidates were to pay ¢10,000, EC Chair, Jean Mensa has said.

The Union in their 10-page report after the general election said Candidate registration was generally inclusive, but nomination fees are unreasonably high. The exclusion of all active members of the extended public service, including lower ranks, from running for elections unduly limits the right to stand. There was a genuine contest in each constituency.”

The decision by then irked many political parties with the exception of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), six other political parties contacted by Happyghana.com criticised the election management body for increasing the filing fee from GH¢50,000, which was what applied in the 2016 elections, to GH¢100,000.

The six political parties that expressed reservation over the EC’s decision were the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), the All People’s Congress (APC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

However, the report also described the EC’s technical preparations towards the election as ‘timely and competent “The EC completed technical preparations for the elections in a timely manner and EU EOM observers assessed the EC’s national, regional and district structures as competent, well-resourced and transparent. The appointments mechanism, whereby all seven EC members are selected by the President for an indefinite tenure without consultation with the opposition, is not inclusive and does not build confidence.”

There are no unreasonable restrictions on the right to vote, and the principle of universal suffrage is respected. The EC compiled a new biometric voter register shortly before the elections, the timing of which was a source of major controversy, during the COVID-19 pandemic and less than six months before elections. The registration process, scrutinised by party agents and domestic observers, was inclusive and there were no serious challenges to the number of registered voters nationwide or in the regions. The final voter register, containing 17,029,971 voters, was certified by the EC on 6 November 2020.