President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refused to take action on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the anti-gay bill, when Parliament passed it on February 28, 2024.

The president premised his inaction on two legal actions filed at the Supreme Court of Ghana challenging the constitutionality of the anti-gay bill, which has now been dismissed.

Now that the apex court of the land has thrown out the suits, what is President Akufo-Addo going to do and what does the law say?

First of all, Akufo-Addo’s refusal to make a decision on the bill based on the fact that there are suits against it had no legal basis, according to law experts.

Here is what the law says:

Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana requires that the president assent to the anti-gay bill within seven days of it being passed by Parliament.

The exact words of the article are as follows:

(1) The power of Parliament to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by Parliament and assented to by the president.

(2) No bill, other than such a bill as is referred to in paragraph (a) of Article 108 of this Constitution, shall be introduced in Parliament unless -

(a) It is accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out in detail the policy and principles of the bill, the defects of the existing law, the remedies proposed to deal with those defects and the necessity for its introduction; and

(b) it has been published in the Gazette at least fourteen days before the date of its introduction in Parliament.

(3) A bill affecting the institution of chieftaincy shall not be introduced in Parliament without prior reference to the National House of Chiefs.

(4) Whenever a bill is read for the first time in Parliament, it shall be referred to the appropriate committee appointed under Article 103 of this Constitution, which shall examine the bill in detail and make all such inquiries in relation to it as the committee considers expedient or necessary.

(5) Where a bill has been deliberated upon by the appropriate committee, it shall be reported to Parliament.

(6) The report of the committee, together with the explanatory memorandum to the bill, shall form the basis for a full debate on the bill for its passage, with or without amendments or its rejection, by Parliament.

(7) Where a bill passed by Parliament is presented to the president for assent, he shall signify, within seven days after the presentation, to the Speaker that he assents to the bill or that he refuses to assent to the bill, unless the bill has been referred by the president to the Council of State under Article 90 of this Constitution.

From the above, there is no mention of a legal action that stops the president from assenting to the anti-gay bill. In fact, the president assented to the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) Bill into law even though there were legal actions filed in courts against it, which to date have not been determined.

The president could have assented to the anti-gay bill into law, after which the Supreme Court could have determined its constitutionality, a point made by the 7-member panel of the apex court that dismissed the suits against the bill.

Even if the president’s decision to wait on the determination of the two suits had merit, they have now been dismissed, and he has more than the seven days needed for him to make a decision on the bill, to quell the assertion that his refusal to assent to it was because he supports LGBT activities.

What happens if Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the anti-gay bill?

The Parliament of Ghana can pass the bill into law by itself if Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to it.

This would require 2/3 of the 275 Members of Parliament to vote to approve it into law.

Section 8 of Article 106 states that:

Where the president refuses to assent to a bill, he shall, within fourteen days after the refusal—

(a) state in a memorandum to the Speaker any specific provisions of the bill which, in his opinion, should be reconsidered by Parliament, including his recommendations for amendments, if any; or

(b) inform the Speaker that he has referred the bill to the Council of State for consideration and comment under Article 90 of this Constitution.

If Parliament insists that the bill is okay and should be passed, it can rely on Section 10 of Article 106, which states that:

“Where a bill reconsidered under clause (9) of this article is passed by Parliament by a resolution supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the Members of Parliament, the president shall assent to it within thirty days after the passing of the resolution.”

What happens to the bill if neither Akufo-Addo nor Parliament approves it into law:

If Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the anti-gay bill into law and the 8th Parliament of Ghana, which has less than two weeks till it is dissolved, does not act on it, the bill will die with it.

The next Parliament, which would be the 9th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana, would now have to start the process of passing the bill before the next president can assent to it into law.

BAI/EK

Watch some videos from the recent Parliamentary sittings below: