• The MP for Mpraeso accuses Speaker Bagbin of taking an entrenched position on the LGBTQ+ bill

• Speaker Bagbin has directed sittings, debates and voting on the anti-LGBTQ+ bill to be made public

• Davis Opoku Ansah says the Speaker’s position on the matter is problematic

The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku has said that he finds it worrying that the Speaker of Parliament is attempting to box every other MP into thinking like him when it comes to the discussion on LGBTQ.

According to the Mpraeso MP, Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has taken an entrenched position on the anti-LGBTQ+ bill currently before the legislature.

His comment comes after the speaker on Tuesday directed that committee sittings, debates and voting on the passage of the proposed Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 into law be made public for the sake of transparency and inclusiveness.

But the Mpreaso MP reacting to the Speaker’s directive said it is problematic.

“As we speak, there has not been any attempt by any individual – MP or anybody – to try and legalise homosexuality in our country.

“Nobody has brought before us a proposal that seeks to legalise homosexuality. I mean what is before Parliament is a bill that seeks to stampede or stop the promotion of the practice,” Opoku said.

“And it seems to be enjoying some support from both sides … but while doing that, we need to look at the constitution as a whole. Everybody has a right, human rights that must be protected.

“So, this attempt by the Speaker to, as it were, box every Member of Parliament into thinking like the way he does, for me, is very worrying,” Opoku said.

The Mpraeso MP has thus called on the speaker to be neutral on the matter.

“First of all, I think the Speaker should limit himself to the chair. Even before the debate starts, taking sides and positions does not really help,” he said on The Asaase Breakfast Show.

The anti-LGBTQ bill seeks to criminalise same sex marriage in Ghana and related activities in Ghana

Despite the wide public support received on the bill, some concerns have been raised on the potential the bill poses to human rights if passed into law.