The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called on the Supreme Court to show the same urgency in addressing the Human Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, as it did in the recent case regarding vacant parliamentary seats.
During a press conference on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, Mr. Bagbin stressed the need for consistency in judicial actions and urged the Court to swiftly rule on the bill, which has been pending before it for nearly a year.
“I respectfully call on the Supreme Court to apply the same swiftness with which they attended to the ex parte application in the case involving the president’s refusal to receive the Human Rights and Family Values Bill, which has been pending before the same court for almost a year,” he said.
The Speaker voiced his concern over what he perceived as inconsistencies in the Court’s approach. He noted that while the Court acted quickly to prevent four MPs from serving their constituencies for 12 weeks, it had been slower in ensuring representation for areas like Assin North, SALL, and others facing similar legal challenges.
“The Court could not enjoin four members of Parliament from serving their constituents for 12 weeks but was very eager to deny the constituents of Assin North their representation because of their issue of allegiance,” Bagbin said.
He also emphasized that the Court should not continue to deny the people of SALL and other areas their constitutional right to representation for extended periods. “The Court cannot deny the constituents of SALL the sanctity of representation for years. The Constitution itself permits only up to three months of denied representation before a general election must be held,” Bagbin added.
As Parliament reconvenes on Thursday, November 7, 2024, the Speaker announced that he has instructed the Clerk of Parliament to send the Anti-LGBTQ+ bill to the president for assent.
