The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has clarified that its proposal to shift the election day to November 7 for the upcoming general election has nothing to do with a petition filed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church because the existing December 7 date falls on a Saturday, this year, 2024.

The chairperson of EC, Jean Mensa, who put forward the proposal for the change in the date of the general election in Ghana during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) on Monday, January 22, 2024, added that the election day must be made a public holiday.

Jean Mensa, in justifying this recommendation, emphasized that designating the election day as a public holiday could enhance civic engagements and contribute to fostering a more robust democratic culture.

This move echoes a recent proposal made by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which sought to change the election date due to religious considerations.

The church, citing Saturday, December 7, 2024, as a day dedicated to the worship of God, petitioned the Attorney-General's office to sponsor a bill amending the election day.

However, the deputy chairperson of the Electoral Commission in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman Asare, has stated that the EC has been pushing for the change in the date for the general election day long before the SDA’s petition.

He said it was the political parties in the country who initiated the proposed change in the date for the elections and not the EC, myjoyonline.com reports.

“Let me state very clearly that it had nothing to do with what the Adventist Church brought in the form of a petition.

“This was something the Commission had thought about from 2020, but we did not have enough time to be able to put it into action in 2020. Yesterday [Monday], when we met at IPAC, we made it very clear to the parties that this was a proposal that came from the political parties themselves in 2015,” he said.

He indicated that the move to change the date for the election is to allow for more time to correct mistakes as well as adequate time for run-offs in the event that they are needed.

“The reason they gave at the time was that in the event there was a run-off, the EC will have exactly 21 days, and right after the 21 days, the next one week would be the inauguration.

“Apart from that too, we gave a reason that the time for the EC to work on organising the elections within three weeks will be very, very tight. Beyond that, the time for the inauguration you have a new government and an old government leaving office, the time will be too short,” he added.

BAI/NOQ

You can also watch the latest episode of Everyday People on GhanaWeb TV below: