The Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has voiced concerns regarding a recent communication from the presidency regarding a letter addressed to parliament, asking it not to send the Bill on Human Sexual Rights and Family Values to President Akufo-Addo for approval.
According to him, he is unable to sleep as the letter from the president about the bill is a monumental threat to democracy.
This development follows a directive from the Office of the President, dated March 18, 2024, advising parliament not to forward the anti-LGBT+ Bill for presidential assent.
Nana Bediatuo Asante, the Secretary to the President, justified this decision by the president by stating that the case is before the Supreme Court, and that Akufo-Addo will only act after the court’s decision.
Meanwhile, Haruna Iddrisu has said that this directive is an attempt by President Akufo-Addo to exert undue influence over other branches of government, a citinewsroom.com report stated.
“I am unable to sleep because this is a monumental threat to Ghana’s democracy and a monumental threat to parliament as an institution. By Article 93, we are clothed with legislative authority and legislative mandate. This letter only reflects President Akufo-Addo’s quest for predominance over other organs of state, and that is unacceptable and must be fought by all persons who love democracy and who cherish the principles and values of the 1992 Constitution.
“The framers of our Constitution endowed Ghana with a separation of powers: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, and a division of powers. It endowed us that parliament shall be responsible for making laws, and what powers does the president’s secretary have in writing to the Clerk of Parliament and not the president himself in writing directly to the Speaker of Parliament as is required by our standing order so that officially this can be read as communication from the president? So ideally, this paper means nothing and must be ignored by the clerk,” he stated.
Below is the letter from the president to parliament
