Failure of President Akufo-Addo to assent to the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2024 until Parliament is dissolved ahead of the December 7 elections would mean that the entire process must start all over again in the 9th Parliament, according to Asante Akim South Member of Parliament (MP), Andy Appiah-Kubi.
The Asante Akim South legislator made the revelation on The Key Points on Saturday, March 9.
Although Parliament unanimously passed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill on February 28, it has suffered a setback as President Akufo-Addo may not assent to it pending a Supreme Court decision on the bill’s constitutionality.
“The critical thing is that if this bill is not assented to before December this year, we will have to start all over again,” said Mr. Appiah-Kubi.
He further noted that the bill “will not survive the 8th Parliament so if we come to the 9th Parliament unsigned, it means we have to start the process all over again.”
He, however, dismissed the assertion that the President went ahead to sign the Electronic Transaction Service Levy (E-levy) while a case was pending in court, stating that the case against the E-levy did not seek to injunct the President from assenting to it.
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“Just appearing before a court doesn’t stay the hand of the President,” he stated, explaining that “when you file a writ against a party and you don’t prosecute for an injunctive order, it doesn’t hold the hand of the other party from doing whatever it is doing.”
He added that such action will only have an effect on the other party, except “doing the thing will have consequential effects on the reliefs.”
“But you are going to the Supreme Court for interpretation of a law, the law already is in a existence so that cannot injuct the President,” he further added.
He continued that if the Supreme Court determines the President has assented to an unlawful bill, it is “a matter of putting away that law.”