The 2008 Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Ablekuma Central, Mr Robert Sarbah, has called for the reduction of the filing fee for the Party’s parliamentary primaries.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra at the weekend, Mr Sarbah who is also the Greater Regional Vice Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union described the filling fee of GH¢16,000 as “too high”.
He said looking at the economic situation in the country, it would be difficult for one to raise the amount and appealed to the National Executive of the Party to reduce it to an affordable level.
Mr Sarbah recalled that GH¢1,000 was charged during the last elections and said “Even though something higher than that should be charged the current amount is too high”.
He compared the filling fees of the Party to the 2,000 Ghana Cedis by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and called on the hierarchy of the NPP to review the amount.
“Such a high amount will scare away and discourage potential good materials who do not have the financial means to come forward,” Mr Sarbah said.
The 2008 Parliamentary Candidate who would not confirm or deny his interest in standing in the 2012 elections accused the NDC of failing Ghanaians and said, “They have not achieved what they promised”.
He attributed the loss of the Ablekuma Central seat to the NDC in the last election to complacency and disunity and called for hard work and unity among the rank and file of the NPP to reverse the fortunes of Party.