President-elect John Dramani Mahama has told the clergy that the next parliament will have to start the entire process on the anti-LGBTQI bill if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo does not sign the current one before he leaves office on January 7, 2025.
Mr Mahama said that he is expecting the current president to sign the bill before he leaves office.
He said this when the Executive Presbytery of our church, the Assemblies of God, led by General Superintendent Rev. Stephen Wengam, paid a courtesy call on him on Tuesday, December 10 to congratulate him for winning the 2024 elections.
He said “The issue of LGBTQI is still an issue that is pending, it is our hope that this president will sign the bill but if he doesn’t sign it the bill will expire, which means that the next parliament must look at it again.
“Of course, like I said we are not people who promote that kind of attitude. The Bible is very clear on it and so we will continue to remain faithful to our spiritual guidance and do the things necessary to do.”
Mr Mahama earlier outlined the conditions under which he would sign the anti-LGBTQI bill.
He stated that his decision to sign the bill would depend on its contents.
In an interview with BBC Africa on Wednesday, December 4, Mahama said, “It is not an anti-LGBTQI Bill, it is a Family Values Bill. It was approved unanimously by our parliament. [LGBTQI] is against our African culture, it is against our religious faith, but I think we must look at the Bill and the president must indicate what he finds wrong with that bill and send it back to Parliament or alternatively he must send it to the Council of State and get the Council of State’s advice.”
When asked if that is what he would have done if he were president when the Bill was passed by Parliament, he answered, “That is what I would have done.”
On the specific question of whether he would sign the bill if elected president, he said, “It depends on what is in the Bill.”
There are currently two lawsuits before the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the recently passed “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill” by Parliament.
Richard Dela Sky, a prominent legal practitioner, is contesting the legality of the bill, arguing that it violates several provisions of the 1992 Constitution, including Articles 33(5), 12(1) and (2), 15(1), 17(1) and (2), 18(2), and 21(1)(a)(b)(d) and (e). Sky is seeking eight reliefs, one of which calls for a declaration that the Speaker of Parliament breached Article 108(a)(ii) by permitting the passage of a bill that imposes a charge on the Consolidated Fund or other public funds of Ghana.
In a separate case, Dr. Amanda Odoi has raised concerns over specific provisions within the bill. She is requesting a restraining order to prevent the Speaker of Parliament, the Attorney-General, and the Clerk of Parliament from forwarding the bill to President Akufo-Addo for assent.
Both lawsuits aim to halt the implementation of the controversial bill, citing constitutional violations and potential legal overreach.
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