Solomon Owusu, Director of Communications for the United Party (UP), has said the party will not charge people who intend to contest parliamentary elections on its ticket, arguing that financial demands discourage qualified Ghanaians from entering politics.
Owusu said the UP wanted teachers, nurses, civil servants and other ordinary citizens to have the opportunity to seek parliamentary positions without first having to raise large sums of money.
During an interview on Joy News, he criticised the practice of charging aspiring parliamentary candidates thousands of cedis, saying it could prevent people with the right ideas and competence from participating in the country’s lawmaking process.
He contrasted the UP’s position with the fees charged by the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), adding that his party would not impose similar financial requirements on its prospective candidates.
“The UP, we will not do that,” he said, referring to the payment of fees to obtain and submit nomination forms.
Owusu maintained that the party would only require aspirants to cover the basic cost of printing their forms.
“Printing only costs one cedi. If you are coming, you pay your own transport and come,” he said.
He argued that a person’s ability to become a Member of Parliament should not depend on their financial position, insisting that the country needed people who could contribute meaningfully to lawmaking.
“We want the right calibre of human resources to be in Parliament making laws for you and me,” he added.
Owusu said the UP’s approach was intended to give more Ghanaians, particularly those who might struggle to afford expensive nomination processes, an opportunity to pursue political office.
