Anti-LGBTQ bill: 'It's not true that Parliament cannot reconsider a passed bill' — Speaker Bagbin
Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has dismissed assertions that a bill passed by Parliament cannot be reconsidered before it is transmitted to the President for assent.
His comments follow the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, on Friday, May 29.
The bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill, seeks to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities, advocacy and the promotion of what it describes as non-conventional sexual relations and family values.
Following its passage, Speaker Bagbin, who was absent during the proceedings, called on Parliament to reconsider the bill, a move some legal commentators argued was unconstitutional.
Addressing the issue during a courtesy call on Thursday, June 11, the Speaker rejected those claims, arguing that Parliament has procedures for reviewing legislation after it has been passed but before it is sent to the President.
“The recent debate, where some lawyers came out strongly to say that by the Constitution, once a law is passed on the floor, Parliament is functus officio, it's not the law, because we have what we call post-passage process before you send it to the President for assent,” he said.
Mr. Bagbin explained that the Constitution does not prescribe a deadline within which Parliament must forward a passed bill to the President, allowing room for corrections where necessary.
According to him, Parliament can return to a bill if inconsistencies or errors are identified through a process known as the second reconsideration stage.
“On many occasions we usually identify some inconsistencies or some errors, and then you can go back to the House where they refer to as second reconsideration stage. You use the process for rescission, a motion of rescission to rescind the decision of having read the bill the third time,” he stated.
The Speaker further revealed that Parliament is expected to apply the same procedure to the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Bill, which was passed in March.