General News of Thursday, 22 October 2015

Source: starrfmonline.com

Parliament to approve November 7 voting date

Parliamentary of Ghana Parliamentary of Ghana

Parliament has given the strongest indication of aiding in the processes required to change the voting date for general elections.

The Electoral Commission has moved the Election Day, a month earlier to allow smooth transition. That means voting will take place on November 7 instead of December 7.

Parliament will play a crucial role in finally changing the date when the House resumes sitting.

The chairman of the parliamentary select committee on subsidiary legislation, O.B Amoah, told Starr News the move is a step in the right direction.

“It will take us about five months to amend the constitution to accommodate the change but thankfully, that provision of the constitution is not entrenched.

“So the executive, specifically the Attorney General will have to bring the amendment to parliament. We all seem to agree that it’s time to change the date to allow for run-offs, especially for the presidential elections and handovers. You wouldn’t want the entire process to be conscripted,” he said.