Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) director of Legal Affairs says the Electoral Commission (EC) is seeking to change the voting date from December 7 to November 7 because of superstition.
According to him, Jean Mensah’s actions are triggered by John Mahama’s birthday falling on Saturday, December 7, 2024, as it is believed that opposing party candidates win elections on their birthdays, as seen in 2016.
“People can be superstitious. The superstition is that anytime an election happens on the birthday of the opposition party, he wins the election. So if you recall, Akufo Addo attempted the presidency in 2008 and could not succeed. He failed [again] in 2012. However, in 2016, December 7th was a Wednesday – his birthday, and he won. Now, the curious thing is that December 7th, 2024 is a Saturday, the birthday of John Mahama. Hence the decision by Jean Mensah to change it to November 7.
The EC has recommended moving the Presidential and Parliamentary elections from December 7 to November 7, 2024, to allow for more efficient operations and preparation for potential runoffs.
But in an interview with Radio Gold’s Sena Numbo on the Gold Morning Conversation, Friday 26 January 2024, the legal practitioner wondered what the EC is trying to fix, arguing that the proposal is completely irrelevant, as it does not suggest cost savings or anything important.
“If the thing is not broken, don’t try to fix it. We’ve had elections since 1992. We’ve had elections in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 2016, and 2020. Has the election on December 7 in any way undermined the selection of our president? The answer is no. So this conversation is neither here nor there. There is nothing to warrant the change. It is not even being suggested that by having an election on November 7, it’ll be less expensive, so the consideration cannot be cost,” he argued.
He indicated that the proposed November 7 election could be more expensive due to the potential separation of presidential and parliamentary elections, which is unnecessary given the likely cost consequences.
“Infect, from what is going on, having an election on November 7 may end up even being more costly because it is most likely we are going to have a presidential election separate and a parliamentary election separate. Can you imagine what will happen if we have presidential and parliamentary elections on a separate day? The cost implication among many other things – this call is completely unwarranted,” he bemoaned.