17 presidential aspirants file nominations with EC
As many as 17 aspirants have submitted their nominations to the Electoral Commission (EC) to be considered as presidential candidates for Election 2016. Eight of them filed on Friday while nine filed on Thursday.
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The Electoral Commission will next week announce the candidates after vetting the nominations.
The EC fixed September 29 and 30 for the filing of the nominations and GH¢50,000 for presidential and GH¢10,000 for parliamentary aspirants, respectively.
Some parties complained about the filing fees which they said was exorbitant . The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) consequently filed a suit and placed an injunction on the EC not to receive the filing fees.
Following the suit, the EC asked all aspirants to keep their filing fees until the determination of the case.
Dramatically however, when the PPP filed the nomination of their flagbearer on Friday, the party’s chairman, Nii Brew Hammond handed over their filing fee in a banker’s draft to the chairperson of the EC, Graphic Online’s Jasmine Arku who was at the EC headquarters reported.
The EC accepted the filing fee and said the PPP knew of the legal implications and still brought the money, so they [EC] have accepted it.
According to our reporter, even though Nii Hammond asked that the money be returned to him, the EC declined and kept it.
Commenting on the development, Arku reported that the Chairperson of the EC said she was under the assumption that by bringing the money, the PPP had withdrawn the court case.
Roll call
Presidential aspirants who filed on Friday were Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP); WO1 Richard Nixson Tetteh (retired) of the Unity Development System Party (UDSP); Dr Henry Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP); and Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).
Others were Dr Edward Mahama of the People’s National Convention (PNC); Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah (JOY), an independent aspirant; Mr Kwame Asiedu Walker, also an independent aspirant; and Mr Thomas Nuako Ward Brew of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
The presidential aspirants who were on hand to file their nominations on Thursday were Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); Akwasi ‘Odike’ Addae of the United Progressive Party (UPP); Nana Agyenim Boateng, aka ‘Gyataba’ of the United Freedom Party (UFP); and Mr Hassan Ayariga of the All People’s Congress (APC).
The rest were President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC); Mr Kofi Apaloo of the Independent People’s Party (IPP); Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings of the National Democratic Party (NDP); Madam Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP); and Mr Kwabena Adjei of the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD).
Apart from President Mahama, Mr Ayariga and Dr Nduom whose nominations were filed on their behalf, the rest filed their nominations themselves.
At the headquarters of the EC in Accra, the Chairperson of the EC and her two deputies were on hand to receive the nomination forms.
