They thought it would hang around our neck – Majority Chief Whip on LGBTQ+ bill politics

Majority Chief Whip Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor has dismissed suggestions that President John Mahama is wavering on the controversial LGBTQ+ Bill.

He insists the President remains committed to signing it into law once parliamentary processes are completed.

His comments come after President Mahama, in a recent interview at Chatham House in London, explained that Parliament still had procedural work to complete on the bill before it could be transmitted to him for consideration.

The President also indicated that constitutional and administrative processes, including consultations available to him under the law, would be followed.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, the South Dayi MP argued that critics had deliberately misread the President’s comments and were creating unnecessary controversy around a straightforward legislative process.

According to him, the President’s reference to Parliament’s post-passage scrutiny process was entirely consistent with parliamentary practice.

“What the president said is also part of our standing orders now, that where a bill is passed after consideration, read the third time and passed, we do what we call a post passage scrutiny and drafting,” he said.

He explained that amendments approved during a bill’s consideration must be properly incorporated into the final text before it is forwarded to the President.

“It’s like masonry, you have to arrange them, because now it’s bricks and scattered, once approved, you must use mortar and put them together and arrange them in that order,” he stated.

Dafeamekpor also rejected claims that the bill’s passage could be overturned on grounds of insufficient quorum, describing such arguments as baseless.

“The quorum reference by the President was as a result of the empty storm that the minority are generating,” he said.

“You are saying that there is an allegation of breach of the Constitution, and that this is rebuttable. The evidence that you use, the material evidence that you use to rebut this, you don’t have it.”

He argued that no objection was raised during the decisive stages of the bill’s passage and that critics were now attempting to challenge proceedings after the fact.

Turning to the political debate surrounding the legislation, Dafeamekpor said opponents had expected the bill to become a burden on the governing National Democratic Congress but were instead surprised by the party’s willingness to advance it.

“They are shocked, they are dazed that the NDC is actually courageous in passing this bill. They think that the bill will hang around our neck like an albatross, and then they will be dancing around,” he said.

The Majority Chief Whip insisted President Mahama’s commitment to the legislation was not in doubt.

“Look, I have engaged the president privately on the matter. I have engaged him in a group. We have engaged him as a Parliamentary leadership. We have engaged him as a caucus. We have engaged him as a party. He’s committed.”

“Remember, he was our flagbearer before he became president. It was part of our campaign promise. He will sign it, and I’m telling you, the president won’t shy away from it.”

“He had made a promise to the clergy that it will be signed. He’s not walking away from that.”

Dafeamekpor disclosed that the remaining parliamentary work on the bill should be completed soon.

“It’s quite a skeletal bill. It’s not as huge as the legal education bill. So, the post passage scrutiny may be completed in a week or two.”

“I expect that it will be remitted to the President’s office in a matter of a week or two. When that is done, he will sign it.”

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)