Don’t Bring the Anti-Gay Bill- Presidency To Parliament
The Presidency has requested the Parliament of Ghana to cease all efforts to transmit the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill known as the Anti-LGBTQ Bill to the Office of the President.
According to a letter issued by the Seat of the government to the Clerk of Parliament on March 18, the President has been advised against receiving the bill and acting on it.
The advice, it said, is in tangent to two suites filed against the bill.
“This Office is aware of two pending applications for an order of interlocutory injunction, both filed on 7th March 2024 in the Supreme Court in Dr. Amanda Odoi v. The Speaker of Parliament and The Attorney-General (21/13/2023) and Richard Sky v The Parliament of Ghana and The Attorney-General (31/9/2024) respectively, to restrain you and Parliament from transmitting the Bill to the President and, also, to restrain the President from signifying his assent to the Bill, pending the final determination of the matter,” the letter written by the Secretary to the President, Nana Asare Bediatuo noted.
According to him, the presidency has been served with the notices from the courts together with advice from the country’s Attorney General and thereby its inability to receive or assent to it.
“The Attorney-General has, by letter dated 18 March 2024, informed the President that he has been duly served with both applications and has advised the President not to take any step in relation to the Bill until the matters raised by the suits are determined by the Supreme Court.”
He therefore requested the Parliament to desist from transmitting the bill to the Jubilee House.
“In the circumstances, you are kindly requested to cease and desist from transmitting the Bill to the President until the matters before the Supreme Court are resolved.”
Ghana’s Parliament on February 28, 2024, passed the Anti-LGBTQ Bill after its initiation in 2021 by eight legislators.
On March 4, President Akufo-Addo served notice about his intention to defer assent until a civil action against the bill in the Supreme Court is resolved.
