This year's presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on December 7, which falls on a Sunday. But some sections of the public believe that if the elections are held on a Sunday, millions of Christians who go to church may not be able to vote. But the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari Djan, told the Daily Graphic in a telephone interview, that the elections would take place on December 7, irrespective of the day on which it falls. "I don't know anything that will change the December 7 date," he stated. Since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution, elections have been held mostly on weekdays, with the 2004 elections falling on a Tuesday and that of 2000 on a Thursday. In 1996, they were held on a Saturday, leading to protestations by Seventh-Day Adventists who contended that the day fell on their Sabbath. In 1992, the presidential election was held on a Monday. Some Christians and Muslim groups are of the view that judging by the fact that Ghana is to a considerable extent, a religious country, with church activities dear to many people voter turn out could be low and the elections might turn out not to be the true reflection of the views of the people. The issue has also earned reactions from religious groupings, including the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), the Coalition of Muslim Organisations (COMOG) and some individuals. The General Secretary of the CCG, Rev Fred Deegbe, said bodies which made up the CCG had some views on the issue and would soon meet and make them available to the EC. "They use a lot of our churches as polling stations and we need to consider all this at our meeting," he said. For his part, the President of COMOG, Alhaji Mohammed Easah, said if it was possible to change the date, it should be done. He said the feelings and sensibilities of Christians needed to be considered, adding that combining voting with church activities would be difficult. "The framers of the law, I believe, did not foresee this problem and we should try and find a way around it, if possible," he added. An Islamic scholar and Greater Accra Regional Manager of the Islamic Educational Unit, Sheikh Shaibu Armiyawo, said Sunday was not appropriate. . He said from morning to about 1.00 p.m. most Christians would be in church and that would slow down voting in the morning and lead to long queues after church service. "My worry is how Christians can combine these two on the same day. A different day should be used for the sake of convenience. If it had fallen on a Friday, the day when Muslims worship, I would not have called for a change of date because the time we Muslims spend at the mosque is quite minimal, but Christians spend a lot more time in church”. But Pastor Samuel Abbey of the Logos Rhema Community Assembly in Accra said voting on a Sunday was no big deal. He said Christians could combine both by either voting before going to church or going to church before voting. "We will only lose those who will have to travel to their constituencies to vote and there is no problem with that," he said. He suggested that Christian leaders hold unofficial church services on that day and church members made to pray for peaceful elections after voting. Meanwhile, varied views have been expressed on the voting day by some members of the public. While some are of the opinion that the day should be changed, others think it should be maintained. Mr Edward Nyarko, a worshipper at the Logos Rhema Community Assembly in Accra called for a change in date, saying that combining church activities with voting would be difficult. He explained that most people might decide to vote after church, adding that the situation could lead to overcrowding at polling stations after church. Source: Daily Graphic