Bryan Acheampong Urges EC To Include SDA Members On Special Voting List

• Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong has called on the Electoral Commission to permit the Seventh-Day Adventists to vote on December 2, 2024
• The Electoral Commission has set aside December 2, 2024, as the special voting day for security agencies, media personnel and other stakeholders
• According to Bryan Acheampong, allowing the SDA to vote on December 2 will help avoid disenfranchising them on Saturday, December 7

The Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong, has called on the Electoral Commission to permit members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) to be included in the special voting list.

Their inclusion would mean Seventh-Day Adventist members would vote alongside security agencies, media personnel and other stakeholders on December 2, 2024.

Bryan Acheampong argues that as December 7, 2024, falls on a Saturday, it would disenfranchise the approximately 800,000 members of the SDA, whose doctrines prohibit them from engaging in any activity, including voting, on Saturdays.

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In a post on X, the Agricultural minister called on Ghanaians to join him in calling on the EC to take the necessary measures so as not to disenfranchise that entire Christian sect.

He said all eligible citizens, regardless of their religious affiliation, should be able to exercise their right to vote.

SDA church petitions EC to change electoral date

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church petitioned the Electoral Commission to move the election day from December 7.

The church maintains that Saturday is the Sabbath and a holy day dedicated to the worship of God.

It further suggested the first or second Tuesday of December 2024 as a more convenient alternative.

In a statement, the church said it had discussed the petition with the Electoral Commission.

According to the church, the Electoral Commission would consider the petition.

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The Director for Public Affairs and Religious Liberty at the Seventh-day Adventist Church Southern Ghana Union Conference, Dr Solace Asafo, told Joy News that the church did not want the election to be held on any religious day.

Meanwhile, the church is taking additional steps by sending another petition to the Attorney General and pushing for an amendment of the constitutional provisions that restrict the period of organising parliamentary and presidential elections in Ghana.

NDC rejects proposal to change voting day

YEN.com.gh reported that the National Democratic Congress has rejected the Electoral Commission’s proposal to change the election day from December 7 to November 7.

Instead, the NDC Director of Elections, Dr. Omane Boamah, called for more inclusive dialogue on election issues.

The Electoral Commission also wants Ghana election days to be designated national holidays.

Source: YEN.com.gh