Even Satan doesn’t come close to you – Arko Gunn tells Jean Mensa

The Deputy National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Arko Gunn, has likened the Electoral Commission (EC) to an entity more threatening than “Satan” himself.

In an interview with Peace FM, he expressed strong disapproval of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) proposed change in the election date.

 Mr Gunn articulated the NDC’s stance on the proposed shift from December 7 to November for elections, asserting that while the party does not inherently oppose the date change, the timing of the proposal raises concerns.

He emphasized that the party’s calendar has long been prepared, and as such, they are unwilling to support the EC’s proposition.

EC is more dangerous than the devil. You want to move elections from December 7 to November we don’t have a problem but this should have done long time. Because the party’s calender is ready as such we won’t support the EC’s proposal. We gave them examples as to why we don’t want to accept their decision.

The EC has proposed that the general election date be changed from December 7 to November 7.

The Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa, proposed this adjustment during a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) on Monday, January 22, 2024 .

In addition to the date change, the EC suggested that the election day be made a national holiday.

The EC explained that this will help boost civic engagement and contribute to the development of a more robust democratic culture.

This proposal follows a petition by the Seventh Adventist Church, indicating that Saturday, December 7, is a Sabbath day.

The church has called in the Attorney-General’office to support amending the election day to either November 1 or 2.

The Church leadership petitioned the Attorney-General’s office to support a bill amending the election day to either the 1st or 2nd Tuesday of November.

The objective is to ensure an inclusive democratic exercise without intentionally hindering anyone from exercising their voting rights.

The deputy chairperson of the EC, Dr. Bossman Asare, has indicated that the Commission contemplated changing the election date for the 2024 general election as early as 2020.

He mentioned that the intention to change the 2024 election date was considered in 2020 after certain political parties proposed a change in date.