The General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has justified the party’s decision to peg the filing fee for flagbearer aspirants at GHc400,000.
According to him, aspirants should have no problems raising the said amount since the party needs funds to organise its primaries.
It was also agreed at the meeting that female flagbearer aspirants will pay GHc200,000, while persons with disability who wish to contest the position are expected to pay GHc150,000.
playGeneral Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia
In addition, the nomination form for the NDC flagbearer slot has also been pegged at GHS20,000, with all aspirants having 10 days to officially file.
This has led to complaints from some aspirants, especially from the camps of Prof. Joshua Alabi and Alban Bagbin, who have described the amount as “outrageous”.
However, Mr. Nketia believes the decision to increase the cost of filing fees is justified, insisting social democracy doesn’t mean poverty.
“The cost of living is high but somebody must pay the cost of running the elections; who is going to pay?” he said at a media briefing.
“Social democracy is not poverty… I have not declared to be a presidential candidate so those who have declared to be presidential candidates must pay the cost,” he added.
The presidential primaries of the NDC is scheduled for the 19th of January 2019, with about 11 candidates having already declared their intentions to contest.
It, however, remains to be seen how many of them will be able to afford the GHc400,000 filing fee.
