Nana Obiri Boahen, Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)
• Obiri Boahen believes MPs who vote against the LGBTQ+ bill openly would be attacked by citizens
• He thinks a majority of MPs would support the bill
• Some 8 MPs put the bill before parliament to push for the criminalization of LGBTQ+ activities
The Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has called for a secret ballot on the LGBTQ bill before Parliament.
He said an open voting process would expose members of parliament who vote against the bill, which he believes would endanger their lives.
Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’, Nana Obiri Boahen said “…if they undertake secret voting in parliament, majority would support the bill. It will be dangerous to have an open voting. Someone may be against the bill, should an MP openly oppose the bill, he may be attacked and that’s dangerous.”
He further urged Ghanaians not to politicize the bill before parliament as it has more to do with cultural values and societal norms.
Nana Obiri Boahen was optimistic the bill will succeed in parliament.
“…I am saying that the bill will succeed whether they oppose it or not. The bill will succeed. This is because of our step up. You can disagree with the punishment but to say the whole anti-LGBTQ+ should be withdrawn, you are lying, it will succeed. Parliament will pass it,” he noted.