GhanaElection 2008 Nomination of Candidates The Commission set 16 th and 17 th of October, 2008 as the period for the filing of nominations for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections. For a person to have his or her name on the ballot, he or she must be nominated as a candidate by completing a nomination form obtainable from the Electoral Commission free of charge. While a presidential candidate must be at least 40 years of age with his or her nomination supported by two(2) registered voters from each of the country's districts, a parliamentary candidate must be at least 21 years of age and his or her nomination must be supported by 20 registered voters resident in the constituency where he or she seeks election. A presidential candidate is required to select a vice-presidential candidate who must also satisfy the same qualifications required of a presidential candidate. He or she is deemed to be nominated once a presidential candidate is nominated. The presidential nominations are received and processed by the Chairman of the Commission at the Head Office of the Commission in Accra. Parliamentary nominations are received by Returning Officers in their respective constituency offices. Even though nomination forms are given out free of charge, candidates are required to pay a deposit which is determined by the Commission. A fixed deposit of five hundred(GH¢500) and twenty Ghana Cedis(GH¢20) for the presidential and parliamentary nominations respectively were paid during the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections. The Commission decided to review the filing fees upwards for the 2008 elections. The nomination deposit for the presidential elections was raised from five hundred Ghana Cedis(GH¢500) to five thousand Ghana Cedis(GH¢5,000). Filing fees for the parliamentary was also raised from twenty Ghana Cedis(GH¢20) to five hundred(GH¢500). The increase in filing fees did not go down well with the political parties especially the less resourced ones who complained that it was aimed at discouraging some parties from participating in the elections. The Commission responded by assuring them of its fairness to all parties and that the increase was necessitated by the present economic trends. A presidential candidate who fails to obtain 25% of the valid votes cast loses the deposit; while a parliamentary candidate is required to win 12½% of the votes for a refund of his or her deposit. At the close of nominations on 17 th October, 2008 a total of eight(8) candidates filed their nominations to contest the presidential election. Out of 34