The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has called on the Supreme Court to demonstrate the same urgency in addressing the case involving the Human Rights and Family Values Bill, also known as, the Anti-LGBTQ+ bill, as it did in recent rulings on the vacant parliamentary seats.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Bagbin emphasised the importance of consistency in judicial proceedings and urged the Court to act promptly on the bill, which has been pending before it for nearly a year.

“I respectfully call on the Supreme Court to apply the same swiftness with which they attended to the ex parte application to the case involving the president’s refusal to receive the Human Rights And Family Values Bill passed by Parliament which has been pending before the same court for almost a year,” he said.

The Speaker criticised what he sees as inconsistencies in the Court’s approach, noting that while it acted swiftly to prevent four Members of Parliament from serving their constituents for 12 weeks, it was less responsive to ensuring representation for the constituents of Assin North, SALL, and other areas affected by similar legal matters.

“The court could not enjoin four members of Parliament from serving their constituents for 12 weeks but was very eager to deny the constituents of Assin North their representation because of their issue of allegiance.

“The Court cannot deny the constituents of SALL, the sanctity of representation for years. The Court cannot even see that the constitution itself permits a denial of representation within three months to the holding of a general election,” he stated.

As Parliament reconvenes on Thursday, November 7, 2024, Mr Bagbin announced that he has instructed the Clerk of Parliament to transmit the Anti-LGBTQ+ bill to the president for assent.