No room in our standing orders for reconsideration of anti-LGBTQ+ Bill – Sam George

A co-sponsor of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, Samuel Nartey George, has called on Parliament to transmit the bill to President John Dramani Mahama for the required constitutional processes.

He argues that Parliament’s Standing Orders do not provide any basis for reconsidering a bill once it has been passed, following a request by the Speaker for further review. According to him, Parliament’s role ends once a bill is duly passed, with the next step being presidential consideration.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 4th Inter Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values, Mr George said the Speaker’s call for reconsideration is not grounded in parliamentary procedure.

“The Speaker has made an appeal. I have gone through the Standing Orders since I saw that appeal, and there is nothing in our Standing Orders for a rescission. When Parliament passes a bill, Parliament is functus officio.

“The only role Parliament has today is to transmit the bill to the President. When it goes to the President, the President has indicated he would want to scrutinise the bill. The Constitution spells out the steps the President can take,” he said.

He maintained that Parliament must proceed to transmit the bill to the President, insisting that any attempt to revisit its passage is not supported by the House’s rules.

“Parliament is a House of rules. Respectfully to Mr Speaker, it is not a House of appeals. If there is no rule in the rule book that allows what is being sought, then we proceed by the rules we have,” he added.

His comments follow Speaker Alban Bagbin’s directive for Parliament to reconsider the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, after consultations with leadership of the House aimed at building broader consensus.

On Tuesday, June 2, the Speaker called for further engagement between the Majority and Minority leadership, expressing concern about the process that led to the bill’s passage.

Mr Bagbin said he was surprised the bill was fully passed on Friday, May 29, noting that he had expected Parliament to only reach the consideration stage before proceedings were concluded.

He further stressed that due to the significance of the legislation and its public interest implications, broader consultation and consensus-building were necessary among stakeholders.