December 7 holiday not permanent, Ghanaians told

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr. Kwesi Jonah has asked Ghanaians not to presume that every December 7 in an election year will be declared a public holiday.

President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, moved Friday, December 4, 2020’s holiday to Monday, December 7.

The decision to rather make December 7, which is the day Ghanaians go to the polls a holiday, according to the President, was to “facilitate the conduct of the election in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, help ensure strict observance of COVID-19 safety protocols on election day, and enable registered voters to exercise their franchise in safety and with minimal inconvenience.”

Speaking to UniversNews, Dr. Jonah stressed that the government’s decision was not permanent.

“Making voting day a holiday is not a permanent decision. It does not mean that every voting day in this country is going to be a holiday. We should have had a holiday on Friday, and this Friday has moved to Monday just to make it easy for as many people to go to the polling station to cast their vote,” he said

Dr. Jonah added that: “In subsequent elections, this problem won’t be there again. We know that we are going to change the election day to the first Monday of December every election year, so, for those who will have to travel to go and cast their ballot, the whole weekend will be there for them to do so. But this amendment has not been done yet.”

Meanwhile, he has urged Ghanaians to commit to ensuring peace, before, during and after the election.

He has also entreated them to step out and vote on election day.