John Osae-Kwapong, Director of the Democracy Project at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has questioned claims that provisions in Ghana’s controversial anti-LGBTQ bill were “smuggled” into the legislation during the parliamentary process.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio on Saturday (30 May), Osae-Kwapong told host of the programme Wilberforce Asare that the said such assertions raise broader concerns about parliamentary procedures and legislative scrutiny if lawmakers were unaware of provisions that ultimately formed part of the bill.
“One of the lines of the narratives that I am hearing is that some of these amendments were ‘smuggled’ into the new bill,” he said.
“I find that an intriguing narrative to think that it went through a parliamentary process where at the committee level this bill went through that kind of scrutiny where both sides of the political aisle were looking at it, debating what should be included, what not to include, change and what not to change.”
The comments come amid ongoing debate over the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill, which has generated significant public discussion and legal scrutiny.
Osae-Kwapong said that if provisions were indeed inserted without the knowledge of some lawmakers, it would raise questions about how Parliament conducts its legislative business.
“If things ended up in the bill on the blindside of some other persons, then it raises questions about parliamentary procedure and how something can get into a bill without a parliamentarian who is supposed to vote or approve it seeing it until that was done,” he said.
He noted that legislative outcomes can sometimes be shaped by political realities within Parliament, particularly where one side lacks the numbers to influence decisions.
“I can see ‘bullying’ happening where regardless of whether you are opposed or support something in the bill, because you don’t have the numbers, you can’t challenge it,” he said.
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