Earlier this year, on January 9th, the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) submitted separate petitions to the Electoral Commission, urging for reforms in the voting date. The current voting date falls on a Saturday, a day that the church considers holy and dedicated to worshipping God.
Among the concerns raised by the church is the request to change the voting date from December 7 every four years to either the 1st or 2nd of November in every election year. The church believes that these proposed dates are feasible, as they were previously discussed by the Constitutional Review Commission in 2011 and the Electoral Reform Committee in 2015.
In response to the church’s petitions, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, a prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called on the church to encourage its members to participate in the voting process. He also urged the Electoral Commission and lawmakers to carefully consider the church’s requests.
In a recent campaign update shared on Facebook, COKA expressed his thoughts on the matter.
“……I have also read the recent statement from the Seventh Day Adventist ( SDA) Church on December 7, which falls on Saturday, the Sabbath day. l think something should be done now to cajole them to have a change of mind to partake in the December 7, elections which fall on Saturday. The SDA has a church strength of over 800,000 members with a youth wing population of 70% of this figure. No one should be disenfranchised because of his or her faith. Yes, the Sabbath Day holds deep spiritual significance for Adventists, but they know that was made to meet the needs of people and not the other way round”.
The former NPP Chairman believes that the church has numbers that can make significant changes in the upcoming elections.
“The SDA numbers can make a change in the 2024 elections. The country must not leave them out of the December 7 elections. While we wait for the future change of the law on December 7, l want to plead with you (SDA leadership) to please encourage your members to go and vote on December 7. Voting in elections is a civic responsibility and a Godly work”.
He, however, assured the church that all stakeholders, including the political parties, have agreed to put measures in place to ensure that in the 2028 elections, the law is changed to favour all religious groups.
Meanwhile, some school of thought suggests that the SDA church, the state and the Electoral Commission should discuss and plan how members of the church could take part in the special voting if the date is not changed.
