Desist from raising funds from only one source – Gyampo advises aspirants

The Associate Professor at the Political Science department of the University of Ghana intimated that more often than not, politicians fall into an obligatory entanglement with such persons when they eventually win power or get political appointments.

Reacting to the recent announcement of filing fees by the Electoral Commission, Prof. Gyampo debunked assertions from certain quarters that the amount was outrageous.

Some presidential aspirants and stakeholders have raised concerns about the GHc100,000 required of persons who have expressed interest in the presidency slot.

But he maintained that the amount charged by Ghana’s electoral body will test the fundraising capacity of the aspirants.

“I think that to be a president, one of the attributes, requirements and one of the track records we’d have to look at before we give you mandate to govern is your ability to fundraise. You should be a fundraiser. If they say you should pay GH¢100,000, I’m not sure they’re telling you to dip your hand in your pocket and pay…,” Prof Gyampo stated in an interview with GhanaWeb.

Citing the campaign strategy of former US President Barack Obama and current aspirant Joe Biden, the political analyst explained that there was the need for politicians to adopt the inclusion of party enthusiasts and the citizenry in raising funds to pay for the filing fees.

“You should desist from just raising such huge funds from just one source so that you feel indebted to them. When Barack Obama was vying for the presidency, I’m sure Joe Biden is doing the same thing what they did was they went round to people and ordinary people were contributing… if you’re able to do this, there’s no way a citizen who has paid 1Ghana Cedi will feel he must necessarily be given a contract to construct a road.

“And so it is a test on the fundraising ability of the aspirant.

“I’m looking for that aspirant who will say that the money was huge but I was able to raise the funding for it and that it demonstrates the extent to which people associate with what I stand for…” he furthered.