President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo has declared that he will not sign a measure that opposes homosexuality until the Supreme Court has ruled on its constitutionality.
The finance ministry had earlier issued a warning, stating that if it became law, World Bank funding worth billions of dollars may be lost.
The law, which was passed by MPs last week, sets a three-year maximum jail sentence for identifying as LGBTQ+ and a five-year maximum for encouraging such acts.
The challenger to the Supreme Court claims that a quorum was absent when the law was passed.
In Ghana, having gay sex is already illegal and entails a three-year prison term.
Both of Ghana’s major political parties supported the proposed strict new legislation, known as the Ghanaian Family Values and Proper Human Sexual Rights bill.
However, attorney Richard Dela Sky, who submitted the case to the Supreme Court, argues that there weren’t enough Members of Parliament present in the chamber at the time of the vote.
Parliamentary regulations stipulate that for a measure to be enacted and sent to the president for signature into law, at least half of Ghana’s 275 MPs must be present in parliament and participate in the voting process.
The number of MPs that participated in the vote last Wednesday has not been disclosed by the Ghanaian media.
The US and the UK have both strongly denounced the bill, and rights organizations have called it regressive.
In the past, President Akufo-Addo had stated that he would sign it if the majority of Ghanaians desired it.
However, he is currently attempting to reassure the diplomatic community of Ghana’s dedication to protecting human rights.
He recognized that the legislation had “raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana” regarding the possibility of Ghana “turning her back on her, hitherto, enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law” .
“I want to assure you that no such back-sliding will be contemplated or occasioned,” he said.
The nation’s finance minister stated on Monday that Ghana might forfeit $3.8 billion (£3 billion) in World Bank funds over the course of the next five to six years.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided a bailout to Ghana last year when it was going through a serious economic crisis.
It seems improbable that the Supreme Court will make a decision in this matter before to the December elections for the legislature and presidency.
Prior to the voting, a few of the earlier cases brought out by human rights organizations to halt the law were not addressed.
Ghanaians will elect a new president during the elections, since Mr. Akufo-Addo would be leaving office after two terms.
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