Allow SDA members to vote with security personnel – Bryan Acheampong to EC

Minister for food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, has called on Electoral Commission to allow members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to vote with security personnel in Ghana.

According to him, the SDA has a church strength of 800,000 members who will be disenfranchised because of their faith.

He believes that no one should be disenfranchised because of their faith.

“Kindly join me in calling on the EC to allow the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) to vote with the security agencies. The SDA has an 800,000+ strong Ghanaian membership that is disenfranchised because, by their faith, they do not work on Saturdays and, therefore, do not vote,” he said in a tweet.

Relatedly, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo called on the SDA to consider allowing their members to vote on December 7. He made this known when he was honoured with an honorary doctorate by Valley View University.

“As we approach the December elections, I respectfully call on the leadership and members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to reconsider their decision of not participating in the elections due to its coincidence with the Sabbath.

"Our democratic process is fundamental to our society, and the right to vote is a sacred trust bestowed upon each one of us as citizens of a democratic nation. By participating in the elections, we fulfill a moral duty to contribute to the common good, building a just and equitable society that reflects our shared values.

"I invoke the admonition of Jesus Christ to ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ to emphasize the importance of balancing our civic duties with our spiritual obligations.

"I urge the Adventist community to explore practical solutions that enable their members to exercise their right to vote without compromising their religious convictions, ensuring that every Ghanaian has the opportunity to shape our nation’s future.”