Baffoe-Bonnie Proposes Moving Elections to November 7
Chief Justice Nominee urges shift from December 7 to November 7 polls to allow timely resolution of election disputes before new government takes office.
- Baffoe-Bonnie suggests moving elections to November 7 for timely petition resolution
- Electronic service of documents could speed up court processes and reduce delays
- Reform aims to ensure disputes are settled before the inauguration of a new government
Chief Justice Nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has called for Ghana’s general elections to be moved from December 7 to November 7 to allow enough time for election petitions to be resolved before the January 7 presidential inauguration.
Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, November 10, 2025, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie argued that the current one-month gap between elections and inauguration is insufficient for the courts to handle potential electoral disputes effectively.
He explained that conducting elections in early November would provide nearly two months for results to be declared, petitions to be filed, and hearings to be completed — ensuring transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
“After the 2012 election petition, it became clear that it would be ideal to have petitions determined before the inauguration of a new government. The best suggestion was to hold elections on November 7 or 8,” he noted.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie also recommended the introduction of electronic service of court documents, saying it would significantly reduce delays caused by manual processes. He suggested using digital addresses or phone numbers for online service to cut down delivery times from a week to as little as three days.
He further stated that with such digital reforms, all election-related court processes could be completed by the end of November, leaving sufficient time for judgments to be delivered before January 7.
