The debate over Ghana’s Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, often known as the Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill, has intensified after Parliament controversially passed the new law.
On Friday, May 29, 2026, Parliament enacted an updated version of the original Bill over fierce resistance from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus, who claimed the new legislation contained multiple revisions that defied public expectations and diminished its intended power.
The Minority called the updated legislation “dangerous dilutions” and questioned the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) sincerity.
It contended that Parliament ought to reinstate the previous version that was passed in 2024 but was not approved by the President because of legal issues.
The NDC Majority group, lead by Mr. Mahama Ayariga, rejected the proposal, arguing that the law was correctly approved with updated provisions that will stand up to constitutional examination, especially in regards to media coverage and accused offenders’ legal representation.
However, Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and President John Dramani Mahama contended that there were procedural errors in the Bill’s passage, implying that Parliament likely has more work to do on the legislation.
“Parliament has been considering it and it was supposed to have been passed last week. There have a few issues raised when it was passed. That one, there was no quorum when was it was passed. That’s an issue that has come up. And then two, there were some procedural lapses in terms of its passage.”
“I just got some communication that the speaker was reading a statement to address the issue of the lapses in the passage of the bill. And so, like I said, when I was the opposition leader, the president has a number of options in this matter.”
“It must come for assent and so once the president gets it, you go through it because you are not part of the discussion in Parliament. And so the legal representative, the legal counsel in the presidency and the Attorney General would sit on it because it was a private member’s motion. This was not a government bill.”
On the fringes of the Ghana-UK Investment Summit 2026 in London, President Mahama gave a narration to Chatham House, saying, “And so we’ll look at it and make sure that everything is in order before the president is advised to assent. The president has another option if there are some things that he thinks are a problem, he can refer to the Council of State for advice. The Council of State is an advisory body to the president and so they’ll take a look at it and then they’ll advise the president. And if there are issues, substantial issues that are raised, the president would return the bill to Parliament indicating exactly what the issues are. And so there’s still quite a while to go before that bill becomes law.”
The decision to pass the measure last Friday surprised Speaker Alban Bagbin, who stated that before leaving the House, he had anticipated that Parliament would just start the deliberation stage.
“In fact, when it was passed on Friday, it was even a surprise to me because I knew that they were going to start the consideration of the bill,” Mr. Bagbin stated in an interview with reporters on Monday, June 1.
In order to guarantee the legislation’s successful execution and public acceptability, the Speaker has called a meeting of the House leadership to discuss the matter.
He revealed that the United Nations and development partners are among the many stakeholders that have submitted memoranda and ideas regarding the legislation.
“This is such a critical bill that we believe there must be consensus. It’s not about passing the bill; it’s about implementing it and making sure that it benefits the people,” he said.
Speaking during a press conference on June 1, 2026, the Minority caucus questioned the reasoning of the legislation’s modifications prior to its anticipated consideration for presidential assent.
The Private Member’s Bill’s co-sponsors, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour and Alhassan Tampuli, asked, “What changed?” in reference to variations between the 2024 and 2025 versions of the bill.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour remembered that members of the NDC had earlier told Ghanaians that the Bill had been passed in 2024 and only needed presidential approval, as he read an official statement from the Minority.
But the measure was sent back to Parliament with significant changes, casting doubt on the legislative trajectory’s coherence.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour asserts that the reintroduced version of the law now has 31 alterations, including deletions, substitutions, insertions, and the addition of completely new elements, compared to the initial 19 clauses.
The Minority contended that the magnitude of the modifications raises questions about whether the current version of the Bill maintains its original strength and intent as it was previously presented to the public.
While the Minority MPs are not against the Bill or Parliament’s power to enact laws, Rev. Ntim Fordjour emphasised that clarification was required regarding the reasons behind the changes.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour questioned why “extensive legislative surgery” would be necessary for a bill that had previously been deemed complete.
He also questioned why the measure was not submitted to the president for approval in its original form.
The scenario, according to the member, has raised questions about how the revisions were decided upon and whether important policy stances have changed between the Bill’s previous and current versions.
He states that 31 new provisions have taken the place of 22 old ones.
He contended that this raises questions about whether the updated Bill keeps the same course for policy as the previous one.
Clause 9 of the Bill, which the Minority described as a crucial part of the original law, was at the center of a large chunk of their concerns.
Propaganda, promotion, and advocacy for actions forbidden by the Act were originally covered under Clause 9, which also included penalties of five to 10 years in prison.
The updated version adds extensive exemptions under this section, according to Rev. Ntim Fordjour.
He emphasised that these exemptions include legal representation, academic and scientific work, medical practice, government institutions, non-governmental organisations, development partners, journalism, and activities pertaining to public health.
He believes that these modifications drastically change the enforcement’s reach and cast doubt on the clause’s continued ability to serve as a deterrent.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour also mentioned a number of other changes throughout the Bill in addition to Clause 9.
These include the addition of new sections, such as those pertaining to extrajudicial treatment and reporting requirements, as well as modifications to definitions and provisions pertaining to adoption and foster care.
He also pointed out that some terminology in the Bill had been altered, including those pertaining to gender identity, marriage, and family values.
According to Rev. Ntim Fordjour, the combined impact of these revisions might have significantly altered the legislation’s emphasis and structure.
During the press conference, Rev. Ntim Fordjour demanded answers from the government and pertinent members of parliament.
He asked a number of questions, such as what factors influenced the decision to amend the Bill, why it wasn’t reintroduced in its original form, and what particular issues prompted the changes.
The Assin South MP also questioned if the current version of the measure maintains what they called its underlying strength and whether Clause 9 in its amended form still reflects the original legislative objective.
He said that considering the amount of public interest and discussion the Bill has sparked over the years, the Ghanaian people should be given clear explanations of how it has developed.
The MP emphasised that concerns about whether the updated Bill represents policy continuity or a major change from its previous version will persist until explicit explanations are given.
Source: newsthemegh.com