Hurdles for a presidential candidate
Being a presidential candidate is not only an honour, but an expression of one’s willingness to serve the people and advance the cause of democracy.
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Towards the delivery of free, fair and transparent elections, presidential candidates are therefore required to play their roles in such a way that the results of elections truly represent the choices of the people.
For this year’s crucial elections, it is interesting that 23 presidential aspirants – 16 from political parties and seven independent ones – have picked thier forms from the Electoral Commission (EC) and are expected to file successfully so as to contest the polls which are slated for Wednesday, December 7.
The EC has fixed Thursday and Friday, September 29 and 30, 2016, as the dates it will receive the nomination forms from the aspirants who are vying to become presidential candidate for the 2016 polls.
The commission will receive the nomination forms, together with the filing fees of GH¢50,000 for presidential aspirants and GH¢10,000 for parliamentary aspirants in banker’s draft.
It will be recalled that in the 2012 elections, some aspirants were disqualified from contesting the presidential election not because the election management body so desired it but because the aspirants could not fulfil certain aspects of the rules and guidelines for one to qualify as a presidential candidate.
Some of the aspirants wait until the last hour to submit their forms and if found to be incomplete by the EC have little or no chance to make amends.
Rules and guidelines
As aspirants who have picked forms are about to return them to the EC, as required by the electoral law, it is imperative to remind the prospective presidential candidates of the need to be abreast of the rules and guidelines to avoid what happened to some of them who could not fulfil the conditions in past elections.
In so doing, it is important for the aspirants to know the basic requirements needed to contest an election to become a president.
According to various EC’s guide to candidates and their agents, a citizen of Ghana with the requisite qualifications can contest election to become President, or Member of Parliament on the ticket of a political party, or as an independent candidate.
For instance, it is worthy to note that one is qualified to contest election to become president if he or she is a citizen of Ghana by birth, registered voter, at least 40 years of age and qualified to contest election to Parliament.
However, the guide states that no person is allowed to canvass for votes, or put forward a candidate for public election in the name of an organisation that is not registered as a political party.
Other offences
Relatedly, a person may have all the qualifications but cannot become a presidential candidate if he or she has ever been convicted of an offence involving the security of the state, fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude.
If such a person has been convicted of any offence punishable by death, or a sentence of not less than 10 years, or convicted of an election offence, he or she cannot seek to contest election to become president.
In a similar vein, if such a person is found to be incompetent to hold public office, or to have misused, or abused a position as a public officer or has been indicted by a report of a judicial or quasi-judicial commission or committee of enquiry, or a commission or committee whose finding has otherwise been confirmed by a Government White Paper or sentenced to imprisonment by a court, s/he is not qualified to stand for election for president.
Ballot paper
Additionally, in order to officially become a candidate and have one’s name placed on the ballot paper for an election, such a person must be duly nominated in accordance with the law.
For this purpose, a prospective candidate must complete four copies of the nomination form, obtainable from the EC.
It must also be pointed out that a nomination form, if not properly filled, will not be accepted if the candidate himself or herself does not sign it.
The form will also not be accepted if it is not accompanied with a statutory declaration made by the candidate (including a running mate) before a district magistrate and witnessed by at least one other person.
The declaration form obtainable from the EC will also not be accepted if the prospective candidate or a person who has endorsed his or her nomination does not deliver the form to the returning officer during the stipulated nomination period, and a cash deposit determined by the EC is not paid.
It will also not be accepted if a signatory to the nomination has already nominated another candidate for the same election.
Additionally, for the presidential candidate, at least two registered voters in each district in Ghana must also sign the nomination form, a running mate must be designated; and the person so designated must also satisfy all the requirements of a presidential candidate.
All these processes by the EC are designed to ensure that the prospective candidates also contribute their quota effectively towards building an enduring democratic culture for the country.
Conclusion
As the 23 presidential aspirants get ready to storm the headquarters of the EC with their large crowd of party supporters, amidst drumming and dancing alongside brass band music to file their forms to contest the presidential election, it is my hope that they will care to know some of these salient things about the election process so that none of them becomes disappointed.
By all means let us have the fanfare and dance to brass band music, but aspirants need also to bear in mind that the premises of the EC is a security zone, and they need to prevail on their party supporters not to do anything untoward during the two-day national exercise.
This is not the time for the aspirants to showcase the strength of their parties or following at the precinct of the EC. That needs to be done during voting on December 7 where the numbers will actually count.