EC says 23 presidential aspirants pick nomination forms

The Electoral Commission (EC) has said 23 presidential aspirants have so far picked up nomination forms to contest the upcoming elections slated on December 7 since the EC opened nominations early this month.

The EC said out of the 23 presidential candidates, 16 were candidates from political parties while the remaining seven were independent presidential hopefuls.

Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chairperson for the Commission, said this on Friday during the launch of a guide to political party candidates and their agents.

The 28-page guide seeks to help party candidates and agents to comprehend the nomination and balloting processes as the commission work to enhance transparency and integrity in the country’s elections process.

The booklet also lists responsibilities of candidates and electoral officials going to supervise the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mrs Osei said “for a democratic political system to be truly representative, voters need an electoral process that is imbued with integrity.”

She said in order to guarantee integrity and build trust in Ghana’s electoral process, voters and election officials ought to perform their duties in accordance with laws and policies.

“Ensuring integrity in the electoral process demands candidates, agents, voters and the electoral management body all conduct their activities in with laid down law and policies,” she said.

“Achieving a free, fair, credible and transparent election is not only the responsibility of the EC but of the candidates, their appointed agents as well as the general public”.

Mrs Osei said several parliamentary candidates have picked their forms from the various electoral offices across the country.

The commission has pegged the filing fee for presidential candidates at GH¢50,000 while that of the parliamentary aspirants is going for GH¢10,000.

Source: GNA