The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that the government has accepted the Constitutional Review Committee’s proposal to move Ghana’s presidential election to the first week of November to provide greater certainty in the country’s electoral calendar.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Thursday, July 30, Dr Ayine said the proposed change would give the Electoral Commission, political parties and election observers more time to prepare for the polls and facilitate a smoother transition to a new administration.
He explained that fixing the election period would also create a sufficient interval between the declaration of results and the inauguration of an incoming President on January 7.
“We have accepted that the Presidential Election be held on a day in the first week of November as the Electoral Commission may specify by constitutional instrument. A fixed period giving certainty to the electoral calendar. It allows the Commission, the parties and the observers to plan, and it ensures an adequate interval between the election and the inauguration of the incoming President on January 7,” he said.
The proposal forms part of recommendations by the Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, aimed at strengthening Ghana’s electoral and governance systems.
If implemented, the proposal would replace the current constitutional arrangement under which presidential and parliamentary elections are held on December 7.
