The Seventh-Day Adventist Church has submitted a petition to Parliament urging an amendment to the scheduled date for the general elections on December 7, 2024.
Citing a conflict with the Sabbath, a holy day dedicated to the worship of God, the church proposes a change to the election day to accommodate its religious observances.
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In the petition addressed to both the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church advocates for the adoption of either the first (1st) or second (2nd) Tuesday of November as the new date for Ghana’s general elections. The church emphasizes the need for this change to be codified, ensuring the freedom of Adventists to worship without interference.
“In anticipation of changing the date for general elections from December 7 to the first (1st) or second (2nd) Tuesday of November, the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church met with the Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
“The Church proposed to the EC a change from the December 7 date to the 1st or 2nd Tuesday of November in a general elections’ year.”
James Kwabena Bomfeh, Deputy Head of Religious Liberty at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, provided justification for the proposal in a Citi News interview. He emphasized that the suggested change would allow ample time for preparation in the transition process following the elections.
Bomfeh argued that if the proposal is accepted, it would also enable traditional worshippers, who typically refrain from farming duties on Tuesdays, to actively participate in the electoral process.
“We do have enough time between elections and swearing-in, and also to allow for a smooth exchange of files and processes between outgoing regimes and incoming ones. We will have a day, therefore, in this sense, Tuesday, where in the traditional society, those who go to the farm relieve themselves of farming duties and stay at home; those who go fishing stay at home to also rest and participate massively in the elections.”
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The petition from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church opens the door for parliamentary consideration and debate on whether the election day should be shifted to accommodate the religious preferences of certain segments of the population.
