The proposal by the Electoral Commission (EC) to reschedule the general elections from December 7 to November may not go through this year.
The laws needed to make this adjustment will shortly be presented to Parliament, according to Eric Asare Bossman, the Deputy EC Chairman overseeing Corporate Services.
Dr. Bossman stated on JoyNews, “So within the last few months, this is something the commission is going to trigger.”
The Commission suggested the new date and the possibility of declaring the election days national holidays in January.
On Monday, January 22, 2024, at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, these proposals were made.
The Commission argued in favor of an earlier election month and emphasized that making election days national holidays might boost civic participation and help foster a more vibrant democratic culture.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other Ghanaians, however, were against this notion.
They clarified that it is in conflict with the agreement made that significant electoral reforms ought to go into effect in November 2028.
The move is not anticipated to be implemented during this year’s elections, according to Dr. Asare Bossman, the deputy chairman of the EC, who clarified the situation on JoyNews.
“That was agreed with the political parties that in the event we cannot marshal the forces of IPAC to have it in November in 2020, the commission should take steps to ensure that in 2028, we are going to have it in November,” he said at the launch of JoyNews’ 2024 Election coverage.
The Deputy EC Chairman went on to say that, contrary to popular belief, the new date will be a specially chosen day in November rather than November 7.
“This must be clear, we were not talking about November 7. At the IPAC meeting, the decision was a day in November. So it can be the first Monday, a second Monday, a third Monday or Tuesday or Friday or Thursday.
