Akufo-Addo will have no choice than to assent to Anti-LGBTQ Bill – Ho West MP

Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Bedzrah, says he expects President Akufo-Addo to assent to the Anti-LGBTQ Bill when the time comes.

Speaking on The Point of View on Citi TV, he said over 90 percent of legislators in Parliament were in support the Bill that has courted controversy and outrage since it was leaked last week.

“You will see the overwhelming support when it comes to the debate on the floor, and I can assure you that President will have no other choice but to assent,” Mr. Bedzrah said.

But the co-founder of the Centre for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana, Prof. Gyimah-Boadi, says he hoped the Bill, which he described as homophobic, is made to just “rot away.”

“I can only express the hope that should this Bill pass through Parliament, the President withholds assent to it. I can only hope,” he said.

He had also described the private members’ Bill as “a complete waste of a very important instrument for promoting democratic governance.”

The Bill, which is being backed by eight MPs, is the first major step Ghana has taken to clearly criminalise LGBTQ people.

The legislation, titled ‘The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021’, will among other things ensure jail terms for some LGBTQ activities.

Groups and individuals who advocate for the rights of LGBTQ people or offer support also face sanctions under the law.

The Bill has sparked outrage from human rights activists and persons sympathetic to LGBTQ people, but a significant number of Ghanaians have welcomed the proposed legislation.

—citinewsroom