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Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, also known as Kwaku Azar, has strongly criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over its nomination fees for presidential aspirants, describing the move as “a democratic crisis in slow motion.”
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, 29 July, the party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, announced that under the party’s official guidelines, aspirants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of ₵100,000 to obtain the nomination forms. Additionally, a non-refundable filing fee of ₵500,000 must be paid.
The decision has sparked widespread backlash, with sections of the public and political analysts describing the fee as exorbitant.
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In a Facebook post, Kwaku Azar condemned the fee, stating that it undermines the principles of democracy and exceeds the amount charged by the Electoral Commission (EC) for national elections by six (6). He stated:
The Constitution (Article 55(5)) requires political parties to be organised in accordance with democratic principles. Internal democracy is not optional; it is foundational.
He continued:
Any party that imposes arbitrary financial barriers on participation undermines this constitutional command. When the cost of entry into internal primaries becomes the equivalent of the lifetime earnings of most public servants, the party ceases to be a platform for national service and becomes a marketplace of privilege.
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Professor Azar further argued that the fee is not a test of capability or commitment but rather one of financial power:
Let us be clear: ₵600,000 is not a test of merit, competence, or commitment. It is a test of wealth, patronage networks, or willingness to borrow from financiers with all the moral hazards that entails.
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Professor Asare is popularly referred to as Kwaku Azar
He added:
It narrows the field to the ultra-wealthy, entrenches incumbents, sidelines youth, women, and reformers, and creates a pipeline to transactional politics, where public office is used to recover campaign investments.
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Professor Azar called for a national conversation on political party reforms and campaign financing. He urged that nomination fees should be capped, development fees scrapped, and alternatives such as refundable deposits or signature thresholds considered.
He concluded by calling on the Electoral Commission to play a more active role in ensuring that political parties operate in a manner consistent with the democratic values enshrined in the Constitution.