The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has urged the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church and other religious bodies to push for proposals to amend the 1992 Constitution to fix Tuesday for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Addressing the centenary celebration of the SDA Church at Sekyedumase in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Nketiah recalled that he had been petitioned by both the SDA Church and the Saviour Church of Ghana to back calls for the Electoral Commission (EC) to shift the 2024 general elections away from Saturday, which is their day of worship.
He noted that similar appeals have been made in the past by the Muslim community and other Christian denominations whenever polling days fell on Friday or Sunday.
Currently, the timing of elections is governed by Article 63(2)(a) and Article 112(4) of the Constitution, which require presidential and parliamentary elections to be held within a window before the expiration of the tenure of the President and Parliament. Article 51 then empowers the Electoral Commission to fix the exact date by Constitutional Instrument (C.I.). By convention, general elections have been held on 7th December every four years.
The challenge, Mr. Nketiah said, is that 7th December sometimes falls on a Friday, the day of Jumu’ah prayers for Muslims; on Saturday- the Sabbath for SDA members and other Adventist groups; and on Sunday- the day of worship for most Christians. This often forces members of affected faiths to choose between their religious obligations and their civic duty.
According to Mr. Nketiah, an amendment that permanently fixes the voting day on a Tuesday would resolve the recurring controversy.
“I urge the leadership of the SDA Church and other religious bodies to push for this amendment to avoid needless arguments among political parties, the Electoral Commission and affected religious bodies whenever a voting day falls on the day of worship of any of the major religions in Ghana,” he stated.
During that event, the SDA Church announced plans to establish a College of Education at Sekyedumase
Background
The debate over election days is not new. Ahead of the 2024 elections, the SDA Church petitioned the EC to change the date because 7th December 2024 fell on a Saturday. The EC declined, citing that the date was already fixed by law and that adequate arrangements had been made.
The Electoral Commission had itself proposed in 2024 to change the election date from 7th December to the first Tuesday in November to allow more time for a potential run-off and a smoother transition, as part of broader electoral reforms. That proposal required a constitutional amendment and did not go through due to lack of political consensus.
Fixing a weekday, such as the second or last Tuesday in November or December, has been advocated by the EC, religious groups and civil society as a way to deal with both the religious conflict and the transition period concerns. Any such change would require an amendment to the entrenched provisions of the Constitution under Article 290, which involves a referendum and at least 75% parliamentary approval.
