Towards an acceptable general election date
One of the inviolable tenets of universal adult suffrage is the right of citizens to vote.
Advertisement
In Ghana, citizens who are 18 years and above, and of sound mind, holding no criminal records, qualify to register to vote.
Voting is a civic, constitutional responsibility and a right, though individuals have the option not to exercise this right based on religious doctrinal grounds or on other reasons.
It’s no secret that members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect, for example, do not vote or participate in any local or national elections, though they may register as voters.
Secular state
Figures from the 2020 Population & Housing Census indicate that Christians constitute approximately 71 per cent of the population, Muslims are seven per cent, while Traditional and other religious faiths are 12 per cent.
The fact remains, however, that Ghana is a secular state steeped in religious tolerance, respect and peaceful co-existence among the citizens of the different religious faiths.
In fact, these attributes are touted as some of the distinguishing features defining the enduring peace and security of the country.
SDA petition
For many years, Ghanaian voters have exercised their civic rights with scant regard for the dates or occasions on which elections have been conducted, thanks to the secular status of the country.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church, which holds it a sacred duty to worship on the Sabbath day (Saturday), has raised concerns over the December 7, 2024, General Elections, which falls on a Saturday, and has duly petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) for a change of date, because its members must “observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy”.
Moreover, the church claims it has a voter population of more than 400,000, who may be disenfranchised if the December 7 date should remain unchanged.
The EC recently proposed November 7 (a Thursday) as the date for holding the 2024 and future General Elections.
Though not a direct response to the SDA petition, it’s not a holistic or comprehensive solution to the issue at stake.
For instance, the majority of Christian denominations worship on Sundays; Muslims do so on Fridays, and other faiths have different sacred days of worship.
Options
To ensure peace, respect and fair play for all the religious faiths, denominations, etc., it is humbly suggested that the EC should propose a “religiously neutral” or a “religiously harmless” voting day for local and national elections – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, leaving out Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Secondly, the preferred suggested day should be one of the key features of the constitutional amendments that may be issued from this proposal for debate in Parliament.
Parliament
It’s not too late to fix a new date for the 2024 general election.
The EC should, as a matter of urgency, begin obtaining parliamentary approval for this all-important purpose.
If the process should begin in February, it should be possible for EC to reach a definite conclusion on the date, at least, nine months before the proposed date in November.
Shifting the date from December to November will not inconvenience the pre-election activities, but rather, provide space enough for the conduct of a run-off, if that should be necessary, and provide ample time for a smooth transition or handing over process.
One thing is certain, the competitive spirit among the various contesting parties and individuals for the highest political offices in this country is unlikely to be impoverished but will rather be intensified and enriched by the one-month difference.
The writer is a retired Educationist.
E-mail: [email protected]
