Ghana Freedom Party Disqualified from 2024 Presidential Election; Ballot Positions Remain Unchanged

The Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) has been disqualified from contesting in the 2024 presidential election, the Electoral Commission (EC) confirmed today. As a result, the printing of presidential ballot papers will proceed without changes to the candidate positions, meaning GFP’s candidate will still appear in the third position on the ballot. However, any votes cast for the GFP will be considered invalid.

The announcement was made by EC Chairperson Jean Mensa during an emergency Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Tuesday morning. Mrs. Mensa explained that the GFP’s disqualification resulted from issues with the nomination forms submitted by Philip Appiah Kubi, popularly known as Roman Fada, who was nominated to replace the late Akua Donkor as GFP’s presidential candidate.

According to the EC, Mr. Kubi’s forms contained irregularities, as he used names and details from registered voters in incorrect districts, violating the requirement that presidential candidates must have two registered voters from each district endorse their nomination. This non-compliance led to the EC’s decision to disqualify Mr. Kubi from the race.

Following the death of Akua Donkor on October 28, the EC had given the GFP until November 8 to submit a replacement. Roman Fada, a broadcaster at Peace FM and the GFP’s previous vice-presidential candidate, was nominated as her successor. However, the disqualification now removes GFP’s eligibility, despite its candidate’s continued presence on the printed ballot.

The EC emphasized that the positions of all remaining candidates on the ballot paper will remain unchanged, and the ballots will be printed as planned. Any votes cast for GFP’s candidate will not be counted, as they are now deemed null.