                  
The director of elections for the CPP James Kwabena Bomfeh, has labelled the Electoral Commission (EC) as “insensitive†for the expensive amount charged as filling fee for this year parliament and presidential election come December 7.Â
During an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting yesterday, the Electoral Commission declared that parliamentary and presidential candidate ready to contest in this year’s election would have to pay GHS10,000 and GHS50,000 respectively to file their nomination by September 29 as deadline.
In an interview with to Class FM, the Director of elections for the CPP, James Kwabena Bomfeh, said the new fees set by the Electoral commission is a deliberate attempt to prevent the willing citizens from serving Ghana.Â
“They are not sensitive to the needs and the aspirations of the people. Ghanaians are in hard times and you are asking us that if we want to sacrifice to lead this country, we should pay such exorbitant fees when the activities of the Electoral Commission are supported with the taxpayers’ money. Elections are  serious matter. That is why we support the EC’s budget; it is taken from the Consolidated Fund. What do they need this money for?†he quizzed.
According to James Kwabena Bomfeh, with the exception of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), all the other parties are of the view that the fees by the EC are outragesÂ
“You see, the fact is that Ghanaians must exercise their democratic rights without necessarily making money the cost condition. No, it’s an abuse of the process. And that is the more reason why the Electoral Commission does not need to raise money to run its activities [through] filing fees. If you look at the economic conditions, this is a deliberate attempt to discourage the masses from engaging and exercising their democratic right especially when they want to put themselves in service to the nation. They are making money a condition,†Mr. James Kwabena Bomfeh, lamented.