Change of election date: You're engaging in politics without principles, lack of consistency — Kweku Baako slams NDC, NPP

Seasoned journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has criticized both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for their inconsistent positions on the proposed change of election date from December 7 to November.

The Electoral Commission (EC) received a petition from Seventh Day Adventists to shift the election date to November, citing conflicts with their religious Sabbath Day.

The Electoral Commission has accepted the proposal and notified political parties and the public about their intention to change the date this year.

However, the NDC has agreed to the petition but urged the EC to initiate the process in 2028.

Analyzing the issue on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, Kweku Baako traced the origins of the proposal for a change in Ghana's election date.

He pointed out that the late Atta Mills’ government established a Constitutional Review Committee, which recommended the change.

The proposal was presented to Parliament with full support from the NDC at the time but failed to materialize due to opposition from the then-Minority NPP.

"The Minority (NPP) then did not give them the numbers," Baako noted.

Expressing his bewilderment at the NDC's shift in position today, Baako criticized both parties for their inconsistent stances on the issue.

He emphasized that both parties were well aware of the blueprint for changing the election date, citing a document from April 2015 in which all parties had agreed to the proposal.

"Based on this document I have here, by April 2015, all the parties had agreed to this…If there is commitment, they would have carried forward this commitment they made in this document to Parliament. They all believed in this," Baako stated, questioning the emergence of new issues that supposedly make it difficult to implement the change before 2028.

In his assessment, Baako labeled the current positions of both parties as "politics without principles" and a "lack of consistency in principles."

"This thing must be done. It can and must be done. We also have the experience to show that when the transition is so tight, so close, it creates problems. So, take religion out, but the principle is clear," Baako concluded.