Majority Chief Whip and South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has stated that Parliament could pass the reintroduced LGBTQ bill within a matter of weeks as lawmakers prepare to begin debate on the legislation.
Speaking on PM Express on Tuesday, he revealed that the parliamentary committee responsible for the bill had completed its work and was ready to submit its report to the House on Thursday.
According to him, Parliament is expected to receive two committee reports, including the one on the controversial Ghanaian Family Values Bill.
Mr Dafeamekpor explained that once the report is officially presented, Members of Parliament can immediately proceed with debate during the second reading stage and quickly advance the bill through the remaining legislative processes.
He noted that after adoption of the report, Parliament could move straight into the consideration stage and potentially complete that process the following day before passing the bill shortly afterward.
The Majority Chief Whip argued that lawmakers are not beginning the process anew because Parliament hadalready debated and passed the bill previously. He blamed the earlier setback on the refusal of the former president to assent to the legislation.
According to him, the current version of the bill remains largely the same as the one Parliament had already approved before the process stalled. When asked whether the legislation would be passed this year, Mr Dafeamekpor expressed confidence that
Parliament would complete work on it within weeks rather than months.
He also defended the possibility of an accelerated process, cautioning the opposition New Patriotic Party against accusing the Majority of misusing urgency procedures in Parliament. Mr Dafeamekpor maintained that the speed of the process is justified because lawmakers are already familiar with the contents of the bill and do not need to repeat work that has already been done.
We are not reenacting anything – Majority Chief Whip defends swift LGBTQ bill push
