Declaration of December 7 as holiday unlawful – Rockson Dafeamekpor

Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Rockson Dafeamekpor has described as unlawful, the declaration of December 7 as a public holiday by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to him, it is only Parliament which is mandated by law to pronounce any day or date as a statutory holiday.

He stressed that the action taken by President Akufo-Addo was an abuse of both the law and his office.

In an interview with Citi News, the lawmaker said, “They have contravened the law. It is only Parliament that can do that. If they want to do that, they come with a bill to justify that, and then, we will amend the law to include that. The President cannot do that. That is an abuse of law and office. It is not about the reason. It is about the fact that he does not have the power to do that.”

The holiday, according to a statement from the presidency said it was to facilitate the conduct of the election amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

It continued that it’s to ensure the strict observance of the COVID-19 safety protocols on the election day as well as get many Ghanaians to exercise their franchise on the day.

The statement said, “Under section 3 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, 2001 (Act 601), the President has the power to declare any other day as a public holiday, instead of a day specified as a statutory public day,” the statement added.

The president took the decision after political parties at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting Wednesday backed EC's proposal to have December 7 as a holiday.