2024 polls: EC sticks to Dec. 7 voting day

The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that its plan to change the date of general elections from December 7th to November will not be put into effect this year. According to Deputy EC Chairman Eric Asare Bossman, the necessary legislation for this change to be implemented in future elections will be presented to Parliament soon.

Dr. Bossman stated, “This is something the Commission will initiate in the coming months.”

In January, the Commission proposed the date change and suggested making election days national holidays during the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on January 22, 2024. The Commission argued that moving the election month earlier and making election days national holidays could boost civic engagement and contribute to a more robust democratic culture.

However, some Ghanaians, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), opposed this idea, stating that any major electoral reforms should not take effect until November 2028.

Dr. Asare Bossman clarified that the change will not be implemented during the upcoming polls, “It was agreed with the political parties that if we cannot have it in November in 2020, the commission should take steps to ensure that in 2028, we will have it in November.”

He further explained that the new date will be a selected day in November, and not necessarily November 7 as widely assumed. “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”.