Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has revealed that it is unlikely for the plea of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) to get Parliament to amend the Constitution.
This follows the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s (SDA) reguest to to have the December 7 elections rescheduled.
In a petition sent to the Electoral Commission (EC), the church argued that the elections must be rescheduled from the customary December 7th since it falls on Saturday, a day dedicated to worshiping the Almighty God.
The first or second Tuesday will be more convenient, according to the church, to foster inclusive democracy.
“In anticipation of changing the date for general elections from December 7 to the first (1st) or second (2nd) Tuesday of November, the Leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church met with the Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday, June 7.
“The Church proposed to the EC a change from the December 7 date to the 1st or 2nd Tuesday of November in a general elections’ year,” excerpts of the petition read.
Speaking on the issue Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Nana Yaw Fianko, Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, recalled a similar incident where former President John Dramani Mahama sponsored the amendment of the constitution to change the voting day from December 7.
According to the lawmaker, voting is a right not a duty and so when one does not utilize the opportunity to vote, little can be done about it.
“In 2014, former President John Dramani Mahama sponsored the amendment of the Constitution to change the voting day, when it went to Parliament it was defeated. So, on the basis of constitutional ground, when we went to parliament it was unsuccessful. I can’t get how this religious plea will get Parliament to amend the Constitution because Ghana is a secular state,” Inusah Fuseini told Nana Yaw Fianko.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu
