US-based Ghanaian lawyer, Stephen Kwaku Asare has said the increment in the Presidential filing fee for the 2020 General Elections by the Electoral Commission (EC) is against the laws of Ghana.
According to Kwaku Azar as he is popularly known, public institutions which are funded by the state to render service to the public are not permitted by the laws of the country to increase fees charged for the provision of services to Ghanaians without seeking approval from parliament.
He argued that Act 2018 which regulates fees charged for services rendered by public institutions including the EC demands that the proposed increment and regulations guiding it be published and, laid before parliament for vetting and approval or otherwise.
Prof. Stephen Asare believes the EC’s decision to increase the filing fees for Presidential Candidates contesting the December polls without complying with Act 2018 is a contravention of the act and against the laws of Ghana.
“Government agencies are fully funded to provide services to the public. As such, they cannot just charge the public whatever they want for whatever reasons. ACT 2018 provides for the regulations of their fees and charges and for other related matters. Under the Act, to charge at all, first these agencies, including the EC, must publish regulations, which of course, has to be placed in parliament where it undergoes vetting. In short, Fiats to impose fees are not just corruption-enhancing and discriminatory against the poor, they are unlawful,” he stated.
He disagreed with assertion by section of the public that the increment is to ensure that ‘non-serious’ Aspirants do not get onto the ballot paper arguing that the mandate of the EC is neither to determine the level of seriousness of Presidential Candidates in an election nor to impose fees to get rid of parties it considered not serious.
He asserted that the electoral management body is mandated to among others ensure timely filing of financial report by political parties and publication of same to the general public so as to ensure that parties do not use illegitimate means of funding their campaigns. In his opinion, the increment will promote political funding through corrupt means.
“The EC is not a tax collector, a profit-entity, a seriousness inspector or in any way set up to impose charges, let alone excessive ones, on general election candidates. Rather, its tasks include making sure political parties timely file their financial reports and making same available to the public for vetting. Its task is to get dirty money out of our politics not exacerbate the problem,” he said.
His comments follows announcement by the EC at its ‘Let the Citizens Know Encounter’ that the fees payable by persons wishing to contest the 2020 elections as Presidential Candidates has been adjusted upwardly from 50,000 cedis in to 100,000.
Opposition political parties including the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have expressed outrage over the fees.
But the EC has defended the increment stating that it is a fair adjustment.
There was a similar increment in 2016 which saw the presidential filing fee increased from 10, 000 cedis to 50, 000 cedis while the parliamentary filing fee was pegged at 10,000 cedis from 1,000 cedis.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) which was the then main opposition party was displeased with the increment but the then ruling NDC questioned the locus of the NPP to complain over the fees when it had charged more than EC’s increased fees for its primaries contest.
The parliamentary filing fee for the 2020 elections, however, still remains at 10, 000 cedis.
