Michael Donyina Mensah, the Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), has challenged all the presidential candidates contesting the presidential election to declare their position on the passage of the anti-LGBTQI+ Bill.

He opined that Ghanaians are now wise and have moved beyond voting on sensationalism but rather on issues.

He asserted that the voters who have now become more enlightened will consider the positions of candidates and their respective parties, or as independent candidates, to give them the nod on December 7, 2024.

He was speaking in an interview with Kwabena Agyapong on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM.

“Ghanaians have become enlightened. They will no longer vote based on the sensationalism we have seen in the past. They are now going to vote based on policies and programmes promised by the political parties or independent aspirants. Ghanaians will no longer vote based on tribalism and religious sentiments. The LGBTQI+ issue is now topical in Ghana, so our candidates must declare their position on the matter. But some of our politicians are not taking this matter seriously,” he said.

He also claimed that the president's delay in assenting to the bill reveals his lack of interest in the anti-gay bill.

“The president has not shown any interest in assenting to the bill. We at CenPOA believe the President is not interested in assenting to the bill. That is why it is important for all the candidates contesting the elections to state their position on the matter. Going into the elections, Ghanaians must know what the position of our candidates is to inform them on who to vote for. This should happen so that whoever wins the elections, we will hold that person to account.”

"The issue of anti-LGBTQI+ is so crucial that it will help determine or shape the elections and the campaign of all the aspirants. He added that we had lived with LGBTQI+ people in our society without any form of challenge.

However, it appears that there is a new wave of pressure from different places forcing us to accept such practices. That is why Ghanaians rose against it, demanding that we pass the law to criminalise it. This is an important issue that Ghanaians are passionate about. The advocacy and campaigns pushed by some advocates infuriated Ghanaians. It started with a curriculum that sought to promote, advocate for, and push that agenda in our schools. But Ghanaians were against it and stood up against it, and that is why we had Ghanaians pushing against it,” he added.