Accra: Archbishop Charles Agyinasare has asserted that the New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s crushing defeat in the 2024 general elections could be blamed partly on the party's handling of the anti-LGBTQ bill. The Perez Chapel International founder, in an interview with Bola Ray on Starr Chat, argued that the previous administration's reluctance to assent to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which had overwhelming support from Ghanaian Christians and Muslims alike, seemed like a betrayal of the country's moral majority.
According to Ghana Web, Agyinasare expressed his belief that the NPP's lack of decisive action on the bill was a key factor in their electoral loss. He stated, "I believe that is why the NPP lost. Because if Ghana is said to be a Christian nation and Christians and even Muslims are saying 'we don't want this,' and then the law is passed and the president is hesitant, or it goes to court and it's dribbled around, I believe that is one of the reasons why they were punished."
Addressing the issue of foreign pressure from Western governments and international donors, Agyinasare noted that such pressures seemed to have lessened under US President Donald Trump. "I think one of the countries that would have put a lot of pressure on us would have been the United States of America. And then here comes President Trump, and he says that to him, there are two sexes in the world, male and female," he noted.
The Archbishop emphasized Ghana's right to uphold its own moral standards, citing examples from Eastern European countries that have taken similar stances without facing international backlash. "Every country has the right to determine what the morals in its country are like. And at times I wonder, when they say there is pressure, why are they not putting the same pressure they put on Ghana or Africa in the Middle East or in other places? It's because they think that we can easily bow under pressure," he said.
He concluded with a direct appeal to Ghana's political leadership, urging them to assert their positions. "To our political leaders, I want to say that they should stand up as men," he stated.