Professor Ransford Edward Van Gyampo of the University of Ghana Political Science department has slammed the Office of the President for its attempt to stop Parliament from submitting the Anti-LGBTQ/Gay bill to the seat of government.
He has described the approach by the Presidency as “a gross display of infantile politics, a deliberate show of conscious ignorance, and a blatant disregard of the sovereign will of the good people of Ghana.”
His comments follow an order from the Office asking Parliament to desist from sending the Bill to the Presidency.
In a post sighted by OnuaOnline on the Professor’s social media handles, he says “the Presidency doesn’t have the power to order Parliament that truly represents the PEOPLE like this! Parliament must assert its sovereign power.”
He also indicated in the Tuesday, March 19, 2024, post that, “the exercise of the power of the Executive President is not contingent on decisions of the courts.”
“It is a gross display of infantile politics, a deliberate show of conscious ignorance, and a blatant disregard of the sovereign will of the good people of Ghana, to shift the goal post in this matter, just to attempt to sell Ghana’s humanity and core values for 3.8 billion dollars,” he added.
Prof. Gyampo further expressed shock over the posture of the President despite Ghanaians’ clear abhorrence to the act of homosexuality.
Background
The Office of the President, pending two Supreme Court applications, asked the House of Parliament to refrain from submitting the Anti-LGBTQ/Gay bill to the Presidency for assent.
The order followed an allegation from the Presidency that Parliament attempted submitting the Bill to the Office for the President to sign.
The Presidency says until the reliefs in the two matters are interpreted by the apex court, the President cannot take a decision on the bill.
The applications seek to prevent Parliament from sending the Bill to the President and to restrain the President from signifying his assent to it, pending the final determination of the matter.
In a statement issued by the Secretary to the President Monday, March 18, 2024, Nana Bediatuo Asante, indicated that, Parliament was aware of the two applications since it was served in both instances, and submitting the document for approval or otherwise was not appropriate.
“It is the understanding of this Office that both applications have also been duly served on Parliament. Therefore, it would be improper for you to transmit the Bill to the President and equally improper for this Office to receive the Bill until the Supreme Court determines the matters raised in the suits,” the statement said in some parts.
It added that the Attorney-General also advised the President not to take any action concerning the Bill until the issues raised by the suits are resolved by the Supreme Court.
The Office further stated that it is established law that during the pendency of an interlocutory injunction application, the status quo ante should be maintained, and no action should be taken that could prejudice the injunctive relief sought and undermine the authority of the court.
“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,” it added.
