The Minority Leader of Parliament and Member of Parliament for the Ajumako Enyan Esiam Constituency, Hon. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson has revealed that the Anti-LGBTQ Bill is expected to be passed into an existing law latest by Friday, 16th February 2024.
He asserted that the people of Ghana and the Parliament of Ghana want the bill to be passed despite the possible international backlash it is bound to receive. He disclosed that the anti-LGBTQ from its inception, bill has not met any opposition in parliament so far.
“The details has been before Parliament since 2021. It has stayed here the longest and we are still debating it. We have finished the consideration successfully. What is left for us to do now is just the third reading – the third reading is only a matter of formality”.
Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson
Accordingly, the Member of Parliament stated that regardless of what others are speaking to, the bill is currently more or less a law. He revealed that afro barometer report suggests that almost 90% of Ghanaians are in favor of the anti-LGBTQ bill.
Hon. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson revealed that the President, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, can decide to veto the bill however Parliament will have it passed using a two-third majority vote as provided for in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
The Minority Leader in Parliament suggested that a two-third majority vote will be possible in Parliament because MPs from both National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wings are all in favor of the bill.
“The President is weak within his own party. They see him more or less as lame. They have a new leader and you can see that loyalty and allegiance has moved from the Presidency to the new flagbearer. I sit in Parliament and I see it by the day. I don’t think that this is going to be an issue”.
Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson
Moreover, Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson disclosed that the President may be forced by his party members to sign the bill even if he (the President) does not want to. He stated that no matter how the bill is signed, he has no doubt that the anti-LGBTQ bill will be an existing law soon enough.
Possible Lessening Of Custodial Sentence
The Member of Parliament also revealed that the custodial sentence clause for people who violate the anti- LGBTQ bill has been maintained in the bill. He disclosed that the sentence for violating the bill may be reduced as some MPs have moved an amendment considering the sentencing.
He opined that the possibility that the custodial sentence will be amended is very low. He asserted that Members of Parliament across board are eager for the anti-LGBTQ bill to be passed into law quickly.
More so, Hon. Cassiel Forson declared that Parliament has decided to protect the heritage and the cultural values of Ghana regardless of international oppositions to the anti-LGBTQ bill. He stated that Ghanaians have the self-directed choice to decide whether or not the practice of LGBTQ activities should be accepted in the country.
The remarks of the Minority Leader in Parliament is in response to Ghanaians comments probing to know the progress Parliament has made with regards to the bill after recent reactions the bill has gathered from the international community.
Conclusively, while the Ghanaian public is largely in favor of the anti-LGBTQ bill, international reaction to the bill has been one of hostility. The Amnesty International, an international human rights protection organization, has recently warned that it will challenge the bill at the Supreme Court if it is passed into law.
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