The two leading contenders in this year's presidential election, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former President John Dramani Mahama, will today file their nominations for the race.

Pursuant to Regulations 6, 7 and 8 of the Public Elections Regulations, 2020 (C.I.

127), the flagbearers would pay a nomination fee of GH¢100,000.

The presentation of the forms to the Electoral Commission on day one of the five-day window signals the readiness of the governing party, the New Patriotic Party, led by Dr Bawumia and the oppo­sition National Democratic Congress, led by Mr Mahama, to slug it out at the polls on December 7.

Announcing on Facebook that the Vice President would be submitting his forms today, the General Secretary of the NPP, Justice Kodua Frimpong, said the NPP leader would be accompanied by his running mate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh.

Others including the party's national chairman, Stephen Ayensu; the majority leader in Parliament, Alexander Afen­yo-Markin and the national campaign chairman, Dan Botwe, Mr Frimpong said would join the Vice President. "After submitting his presidential nomination, the presidential candidate would address party sympathizers and the general public at the party's national headquarters at 9:00 a.m.," Mr Kodua wrote.

For Mr Mahama and the NDC, today's event would mark a giant step towards resetting the country back onto the path of progress. "The submission of the forms by our National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, represents a pivotal step in our campaign for change on December 7. "We are all in this together, working with Ghanaians to Reset Ghana's econ­omy and 'Build the Ghana we want to­gether'", Mr Mahama said in a Facebook post yesterday.

A statement earlier released by the EC in August explained that a candidate for election as President shall designate the person to serve as Vice-President pursuant to provisions of the 1992 Con­stitution.

Thirty-seven other persons, mean­while, have also picked nominations to contest as president in the election.

They include candidates on the ticket of 10 political parties and 27 indepen­dent candidates.

They are the Convention People's Party, the Progressive People's Party, the Great Consolidated Popular Party, the All People's Congress, the People's National Convention, the Liberal Party of Ghana, the Ghana Union Movement, the National Democratic Party, the Gha­na Freedom Party, and the Progressive Alliance for Ghana.

Some of the independent candi­dates who have also picked forms are Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, Nana Kwame Bediako, Twum-Barim-Adu, Jacob Osei Yeboah, Samuel Apea-Dan­quah, Kofi Koranteng, Richard Sumah, Dr Agnes Ayisha, Dr Nii Amu Darko, Desmond Abrefa, Wilberforce Andrews, Nana Stephens, Rev.

Samuel Worlanyo and T.

K.

Amenya amongst others.  BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI