The Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Attorney General over the presidential and parliamentary filing fees announced by the electoral body.
The party, which described the astronomical increase as “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” is praying the court to stop the EC from collecting the fees.
The EC with three months to go for the crucial 2016 elections announced GHȼ50,000 and GHȼ10,000 as filing fees for presidential and parliamentary aspirants respectively.
Per CI 75, the presidential aspirants get a full refund if they get at least 25% of the votes cast in the presidential election while the parliamentary aspirants get a full refund if they get at least 12.5% of the votes cast in the constituency.
The EC in justifying the increase quoted regulations 8 and 45 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2016 (C.I. 94) as the legal basis for the increased charges of filing fees and or deposit of same.
But the PPP in its suit wants 'A declaration that the entire C.I. 94 does not contain the appropriate relevant provisions that meet the intendment of Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution'.
It maintained that, the EC, is violating sections of the Cconstitution which give every Ghanaian the right to vote and be voted for without being financially restricted.
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