Ghana's Parliament Moves to Revisit Its Anti-LGBTQ Bill, but Not to Drop It ‎

Ghana's Parliament is preparing to reopen its approval of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly called the anti-LGBTQ bill. The aim, by the account of its own leaders, is to fix the process, not to abandon the bill.

What happened in May. Parliament passed the bill on Friday, 29 May 2026, despite strong resistance from the Minority Caucus. The International Commission of Jurists says it carries a minimum three-year prison term for consensual same-sex acts and up to five years for promotion or sponsorship.

Why it is being reopened. The Speaker, Alban Bagbin, told the House that the bill was passed without full compliance with Standing Orders 170, 171 and 172.

Standing Order 172(1) requires at least one sitting day between the consideration stage and the third reading, and he raised concerns about whether agreed amendments reached the final text.

He stressed that revisiting the third reading does not mean abandoning the bill or rejecting its objectives. The route is a motion to rescind the decision to read the bill a third time.

The delay. A motion to rescind was listed for 31 July 2026, but the House adjourned sine die before adopting it. The bill therefore stayed unsent to the President.

According to MambaOnline on 7 November, the Majority Leader confirmed that an amended version will "absolutely" go to President John Mahama for assent in November, before Parliament goes into recess.

Parliament must correct the mistakes and rescind the May third reading, then vote again on the adjusted version.

Competing views in Parliament. Not everyone accepts that a rescission is needed. Sam George argued that once a bill passes its third reading, Parliament has no further role and must transmit it.

Earlier, the then Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga defended the process, saying Parliament lawfully abridged time, and that calling the bill a nullity would annul many other laws. Outside Parliament, an International Bar Association institute has urged Ghana to reject the bill.

What to watch. The key questions are whether the rescission motion is adopted, what changes the revised text carries, and whether President Mahama signs it. Earlier this year, he outlined the several stages the bill still had to pass after 29 May.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880
References
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GNA, "Speaker Bagbin orders reconsideration of anti-LGBTQ Bill": https://gna.org.gh/2026/06/speaker-bagbin-orders-reconsideration-of-anti-lgbtq-bill-stressing-houses-integrity/

GBC Ghana, "Bagbin orders reconsideration of anti-LGBTQ+ bill": https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/politics/bagbin-lgbt-reconsider/2026/

Citi Newsroom, "Bagbin: Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill can be reconsidered despite passage" (11 Jun 2026): https://www.citinewsroom.com/?p=1359263

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MyJoyOnline, "Majority Leader: If Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill is a nullity, many laws would be affected": https://www.myjoyonline.com/if-anti-lgbtqbill-is-a-nullity-many-ghanaian-laws-would-be-affected-too-majority-leader/

MyJoyOnline, "Speaker directs Parliament to reconsider passage of Anti-LGBTQ Bill": https://www.myjoyonline.com/speaker-directs-parliament-to-reconsider-passage-of-anti-lgbtq-bill/

ICJ, "Ghana: President Mahama must reject anti-LGBT bill": https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Ghana-President-Mahama-must-Reject-Anti-LGBT-Bill.pdf

Urania Institute (IBA), "IBA institute urges Ghana to reject anti-LGBT bill": https://urania.institute/en/news/2026/0731-iba-ghana-anti-lgbt-bill/