Anti-LGBTQ bill’s reintroduction hits snag in parliament
The reintroduction of the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill in Parliament has hit a snag after it was quietly removed from the agenda for Wednesday’s parliamentary session.
The bill, formally titled the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, had been scheduled for consideration on Tuesday, October 21, but was absent from the Order Paper the following day.
Explaining the situation on the floor of Parliament, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga clarified that there was no need to reintroduce the bill since it had already passed in the previous Parliament and had been sent to the President for assent.
“We indicated that we thought the bills had been passed by this house already and had been sent to the presidency for assent. And so, we didn’t see the need to reconsider a bill that has already been passed by this house, waiting for presidential assent,” he told the House.
He further explained that unless the President initiates the constitutional process of returning the bill to Parliament, the House has no reason to revisit it.
“Unless the constitutional procedure for returning the bill to us is complied with by the president for us to reconsider and then use our two-thirds majority to approve the bill, even if the presidency had some issues with it, there’s no need to relist it,” he explained.
Following Ayariga’s explanation, the Speaker of Parliament instructed the Clerk to review the situation, leading to the bill’s removal from the Order Paper.
The development has sparked renewed debate on the future of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, with some legal experts suggesting that bills not assented to before the end of a parliamentary session may need to be reintroduced.
Others, however, believe that the legislation remains valid until the President formally returns it to Parliament for reconsideration.
The bill, widely referred to as the “anti-LGBTQ bill,” has been one of Ghana’s most controversial pieces of legislation in recent years. It seeks to criminalize same-sex relationships and advocacy for LGBTQ rights in the country.
Its removal from the parliamentary agenda raises new questions about when, or even if, the bill will ever receive presidential assent.
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