2024 Election: Jacob Osei Yeboah supports SDA’s petition to change Saturday December 7 date

Jacob Osei Yeboah

Two-time independent presidential candidate, Jacob Osei Yeboah has commended the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church for petitioning the Attorney General to raise concerns about the December 7 date for the 2024 General Election.

In its petition, the leadership of the SDA church argued that the elections would have to be moved from the conventional December 7 because the date falls on a Saturday, which will conflict with the Sabbath, a holy day dedicated to the worship of God.

Reacting to the petition, Jacob Osei Yeboah said the petition is in order not because of the worship day by the SDA only to set a precedence but also because Saturdays are important for our social life and preparation day as a nation for the following week’s working activities.

He notes that as a nation, the petition by the SDA church should be taken into serious consideration to avoid intermittent petitions from all faith-based communities in the future.

Mr. Osei Yeboah believes that the proposed date of Tuesday, December 3, will be ideal for the 2024 General Elections.

“The office is therefore by this extolling the righteous petition by SDA for EC to consider the 1st Tuesday of December as election day within presidential and Parliamentary elections year. The same convention could also be adopted for all other public elections by the EC, especially for political parties’ primaries,” Jacob Osei Yeboah said in a release.

Read the full release from the two-time Independent Presidential Candidate below.

17^th January, 2024
The Chairperson
Electoral Commission Head quarters
P. O. Box M214, Accra
Ghana
Dear EC Chairperson,
RE- SDA CHURCH PETITIONS EC TO CONSIDER 1^ST/2^ND TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER AS ELECTION DAY

The above subject refers which on behalf of the office of Mr. Jacob Osei Yeboah, 2012 & 2016 Independent Presidential Candidate, and on my own accord applaud the petition for the highest consideration of your office which has the prerogative based on Article 46 Constitution 1992, to make this important decision on behalf of Ghana.

Since the 4^th Republic from 1992, elections day, 7^th December has fallen on Saturday, Sunday and Friday in 1996, 2008 and 2012 respectively. As a nation we’ve also experienced two elections petitions in 2012 and 2020 each going beyond the transition period by 7 January in elections held in December. A trend has already been established and the various religious bodies had shown their understanding of the sacred duty to the nation and constitutional mandate for transition has been adhered to as well.

Notwithstanding the trend, the petition by the SDA church is righteous not only for Ghanaians religiosity but more importantly our anthropological disposition of the Day, Saturday, within a week in the Ghanaian society coupled with work and social life of our nation.

Firstly, Saturdays are the shopping days for families in the hectic urban life with work schedules. The same Saturdays, especially the first Saturday of the month, are meant for weddings, funerals and other relevant social life of the Ghanaian and even the convenient days for other faith-based communities to use for other activities. The same Saturdays are days where rural pupils joined the parents to farms and Sea. That is why the petition is a call to help settled for the conflict of interest of our social life and election days. The EC needs to take cognizance of the fact that voting in Ghana is not mandatory by law like some other jurisdictions and more importantly moving the day from Saturday may have a positive impact on elections turnout on Tuesdays.

Secondly, the EC adopting the convention of a DAY, TUESDAY instead of a DATE, 7^th December will help curb such intermittent passive protests from our faith-based communities. As a nation we would want to avoid the intermittent petitions from all faith-based communities. The SDA research on a Tuesday has a broader appeal for EC to consider adopting the DAY, Tuesday as the convention. The petition is applauded not because of the worship day by the SDA only to set a precedence but also Saturdays are important for our social life and preparation day as a nation for the following week’s working activities.

The office however, sees the argument to have the elections in November quite subject. The elected president, forming the executive arm of government has a constitutionally mandated 4-year term which ends on the 6^th January. Any prudent arm of government being the President, Speaker or Chief Justice is supposed to render end of term account by 6^th January. The end of term notes by each ministry should be ready by the end of 3^rd quarter in an election year. The same President in a 2^nd term still has to meet the constitutional mandate of transition. Maintaining December elections also has a psychological forward looking to Christmas which enables majority Ghanaians not wanting to take any untoward action instigated by the duopoly to mar the upcoming Christmas.

The office is therefore by this extolling the righteous petition by SDA for EC to consider the 1^st Tuesday of December as election day within presidential and Parliamentary elections year. The same convention could also be adopted for all other public elections by the EC, especially for political parties’ primaries.

Yours Sincerely,
SIGNED
Jacob Osei Yeboah
2012 & 2016 Presidential Candidate and
CO-Founder Ghana First Coalition (GFC)