The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has confirmed December 7th as date the country will hit the polls for the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The EC however hinted that, the date for the subsequent general elections could change, as the electoral body is set to commence processes in that regard.

The Chairperson of the EC, Jean Mensa, in an interview with the Daily Graphic said while the EC remained committed to changing the voting date, it would have to shelve that plan for this year. This is primarily because, a proposed change of date would have to go through a cumbersome process before been accepted procedurally, making it tough to push for it this year, considering the little time left to election.

“Although the EC is in favour of the change in date, we don’t intend to do so this year,” Mrs Mensa stated.

The EC has although initiated the process to amend Article 112 (4) of the 1992 Constitution, which will allow it to change the date of elections from December 7 to November 7, to make the elections convenient and also enhance the electoral process.

Providing further insight into the issue, a Deputy Chairperson of the EC in charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey, said to enable the EC to amend the law, it had to write to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice justifying why it needed to change the date.

Following that, he explained, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice would initiate a bill for the appropriate amendment, with the requisite justification.

He said the bill would also have to go through the requisite parliamentary process, after which two-thirds of Members of Parliament would have to vote in favour of the amendment.

He further explained that once Parliament approved of the amendment, the EC would then go ahead to begin the processes to change its calendar and programmes to be in tune with the new date.

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November 7 Elections

Some concerned Ghanaians have called on the authorities to change the general elections date and conduct the exercise a month earlier, preferably 7th November.

Persons who have called for the change in date to 7th November have argued that in the event of a run-off, there will be adequate time for such an election and smooth handover processes.

A typical incident used in arguing the case is the 2000 general election where there was a second run-off on December 28, 2000, after the December 7 elections produced no first-round winner. It took barely a week for the transition process from one government to another.