2020 polls: Candidates to file nominations October 5-9

The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced October 5-9 as the date for the filing of nomination forms by presidential and parliamentary candidates in the upcoming December 2020 general elections.

This is an extension from the 2-day period of the filing process which was done in the previous years.

The Commission explained that the extension is to pave the way for political parties to effect corrections to their forms and in turn minimise the unfair disqualifications that characterised the previous nomination processes due to tight timelines.

Speaking at its “Let the Citizen Know” series on Monday, the EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa, disclosed that each registered political party would be given special password to be able to access the nomination form on the Commission’s website – ‘ec.gov.gh.com/parties’.

“In our bid to ensure the security and integrity of the nomination process, each political party will be provided with a unique password to enable them access the password protected nomination forms via political party named folders. It is important to note that Independent Candidates will also be issued with unique passwords,” she said.

She asked the General Secretaries of the political parties and representatives of independent candidates to call the Commission’s Head of Information Technology Department to assess their passwords.

The EC boss explained that the new mechanism forms part of measures to promote and undertake COVID-19 free elections, adding that the forms had been made available to all political parties from 6pm on Monday.

Guidelines for filing

According to the Commission, it will receive the nomination forms from the registered candidates between the hours of 9 am and 12 noon, and between the hours of 2 pm and 5pm each day. The forms should be submitted in quadruplicates.

Also, presidential candidates will have to file their nominations at the national headquarters of the EC, with only five supporters each because of COVID-19, while the parliamentary candidates will have to file at the district offices of the EC where their constituencies are located.

To promote efficiency and orderliness in the submission process, political parties are expected to contact the Director for Electoral Services to arrange a day and time for submission within the five days’ period.

“Candidates, for both Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, would be required deliver or cause to be delivered to the Returning Officer, a Statutory Declaration to the effect that he/she is qualified to be elected as President of Ghana or Member of Parliament respectively and that he/she is not disqualified from being elected as such. The Statutory Declaration shall be made before a Judge, Judicial Officer, Notary Public, Commissioner of Oath, or a person authorized by law to administer an oath. Any of the above mentioned persons, shall certify the statutory declaration under their signature,” she noted.

Mrs Jean Mensa said that both presidential and parliamentary candidates would have to submit their forms together with tax clearance certificates.

Filing fees

The EC boss further announced that it had increased the filing fees for presidential aspirants from GHC50, 000 to GHC100, 000, while parliamentary aspirants are to pay GHC10, 000.

This announcement has been followed with a lot of criticism from minor political parties as well as some political activist.

However, justifying the fee, a Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Dr Bossman Eric Asare insisted that the increment is in line with the value of the currency.

“In each particular year, it is important you look at the value of GHC50, 000 in 2016, then compare it to GHC50, 000 in 2020, then you will notice that the Commission has not increased it much. And even when you look at the parliamentary, the GHC10,000, you will realise that the Commission has reduced the price because we all know that GHC10,000 in 2016 is not the same as GHC10,000 in 2020. The Commission is doing this to promote multiparty democracy,” he said.

Source: dailystatesman.com.gh/Isabella Agyakwa