Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on March 20, 2024, delivered a formal statement responding to what has become a rift between the Executive and Legislative arms of government.
At the heart of the 62-point statement is the contents of a letter signed by Executive Secretary to the president asking the Clerk of Parliament to cease and desist from transmitting the anti-LGBT+ Bill to the presidency.
Nana Bediatuo Asante cited legal matters before the Supreme Court over the Bill’s constitutionality and an advice from the Attorney-General that the president desists from taking action on the Bill as basis for his letter.
Bagbin, however, strongly disagreed with the letter which he said was contemptuous of Parliament.
In a four-part statement, he addresses the legality of lawmaking and its nuances and the issue of injunctions especially those seeking to block parliament from undertaking its core mandate.
Read he full statement below:
FORMAL STATEMENT BY THE RT. HON. SPEAKER ON THE REFUSAL OF THE PRESIDENT TO ACCEPT THE TRANSMISSION OF THE HUMAN SEXUAL RIGHTS AND FAMILY VALUES BILL, 2021.
INTRODUCTION
1. Honorable Members, I address you today amid circumstances that profoundly challenge the core principles of our constitutional democracy.
2. At the outset, I must express my profound regret concerning the conduct displayed by the Presidency following Parliament’s successful unanimous passage of the Human Sexual Values Bill, 2021.
3. The behaviour exhibited by the Presidency in refusing to accept the transmission of this bill not only deviates from established democratic practices but also undermines the spirit of cooperative governance and mutual respect for the arms of government.
4. This is a principle that forms the cornerstone of our political system. Such actions, if left unchecked, risk setting dangerous precedents that threaten the integrity and functionality of our democratic institutions.
5. To situate this statement in the appropriate context, it is crucial to acknowledge a disturbing pattern emerging from the Executive branch, which points to a concerning disregard for the foundational principles enshrined in the Constitution, 1992.
6. This pattern has once again been made evident in the President’s recent refusal to accept the transmission of the Human Sexual Values Bill. The recent move is not isolated. It forms part of a series of actions that undermine the legislative process. As you may recall, I addressed this House on 22nd December, 2023 in a formal statement. The purpose of that statement was to draw your attention to the President’s refusal to assent to three critical bills that had been duly passed via a Private Members’ Bill.
7. During that address, I underscored the troubling nature of the President’s justifications for his actions, or rather, the lack thereof, particularly highlighting that his failure to assent on grounds of alleged unconstitutionality, paradoxically stood in violation of the very constitution he invoked.
8. Despite the gravity of this matter, it is disheartening to note that there has been no progress in rectifying the situation concerning those significant pieces of legislation. They remain in a state of limbo, unacted upon following the President’s communication, which lacked substantial legal justification.
9. This ongoing scenario poses a grave threat to our legislative authority and, by extension, the democratic principles we strive to uphold. The implications of such executive actions extend far beyond the immediate legislative items at hand. They erode the foundational checks and balances that our forebearers painstakingly established to ensure a vibrant and functioning democracy.
