Some members of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) seeking to contest the party’s flagbearer position, have vehemently kicked against the hundred thousand cedis filing fee for the slot.
Former General Secretary, Bernard Mornah and Sampson Asaki Awingobit do not comprehend why a party seeking to attract the electorates will decide to inflate its filing fees to dissuade others from contesting.
The Peoples National Convention at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting last week opened nomination for positions in the party.
That was the first meeting after the party’s General Secretary broke away from the PNC to revive the Peoples National Party (PNP).
The NEC pegged the filing fee for the flagbearer position at one hundred thousand cedis (GHC100,000.00), a 100% increase from the previous filing fee of GHC50,000.00.
Potential parliamentary aspirants of the party are also required to pick nomination forms for ten thousand cedis (GHC10,000.00), also increased by hundred percent.
The announcement of the filing fee has generated controversy among party members who have declared interest in the position.
Former General Secretary of the party, Bernard Mornah, is concerned that a party like PNC which is constrained with resources, will choose to inflate their filing fees to prevent people from contesting.
He asked, “over the years, it is not filing fees that has been used to finance activities of the party so why this huge increment?”
He further indicated that, “If left with me alone, I can afford GH¢110k, but the situation is that we are seeking to make the party attractive and we expected that things will be right for everybody who can contest without money becoming a barrier.”
Sampson Asaki Awingobit is another party member who has concerns with the National Executive Council’s decision to inflate the filing fees.
For him, the NEC’s decision to hike the filing was out of place.
The People’s National Convention is seeking to be attractive to form a third force in the country’s political space, but more work is needed to make this happen.
By Stanley Nii Blewu
