The Electoral Commission of Ghana is considering a change in the date for the 2024 general elections from December 7 to November 7, 2024.
The commission’s chairperson, Jean Mensa made this proposal during an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Monday, January 22, 2024.
The EC proposed that the day be declared a public holiday to allow full participation in the election process.
It will be recalled that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church recently petitioned the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General to shift the voting date for the 2024 general elections from December 7 to any other date because the voting day, which falls on a Saturday, conflicts with the Sabbath—a holy day they dedicate to the worship of God.
Referring to the 1996 general elections, the church said about 95 percent of their members were unable to vote because the elections were held on a Saturday.
The SDA church recommended the adoption of “the first (1st) or second (2nd) Tuesday of November” as the new date for Ghana’s general elections, seeking codification to ensure Adventists’ are free to worship and to enable them to vote in the parliamentary and presidential elections.