‘High’ Filing- Fee Court injunction may hamper Dec 7 polls – EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said the court injunction restraining it from collecting filing fees from presidential and parliamentary aspirants may have “serious implications” for the 2016 elections.

Mr Eric Dzakpasu, head of Communications at the EC said on Thursday that the EC cannot go ahead with the other processes including balloting for positions on the ballot paper and the printing of ballot papers among others until the court case was closed.

Mr Dzakpasu told the Graphic Online that EC will, however, go on and vet the nominations for now, pending advice from its lawyers.

A total of nine presidential aspirants out of the 25 on Thursday, submitted their nomination forms to the EC.

They were Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Akwasi Addae Odike of United Progressive Party (UPP), Nana Agyenim Boateng of United Front Party (UFP), Hassan Ayariga of All People Congress (APC), Kofi Apaloo of Independent Peoples Party (IPP), John Dramani Mahama of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of National Democratic Party (NDP), Akua Donkor of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) and Kwabena Agyei of Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD).

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The Commission said after the vetting of documents, it will announce which of the aspirants qualifies as candidates.

Meanwhile, the EC is not accepting the filing fees yet because the Progressive People’s Party has sued it over the fee.

The plaintiff is among other things seeking the court to declare that “the filing fee is arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable”.

“An order directed at the defendants to desist from collecting and or receiving the said deposit or fees for the conduct of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections until the appropriate statutory instruments have been passed in accordance with appropriate legal rights.”

The PPP is further seeking a declaration that Regulation 45 of C.I. 94 is discriminatory.

The EC is charging GHC50, 000 as nomination fee for persons seeking to run for president and GHC10, 000 for parliamentary aspirants.