Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has said the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, can be reconsidered even after it has been passed.
Speaker Bagbin disclosed that Parliament has the option to move a motion to rescind its earlier decision on the Bill.
He further dismissed claims that Parliament is in a stalemate over the Bill.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the Supreme Court 150th Anniversary Planning Committee on Thursday, June 11, Alban Bagbin disclosed, “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 a passage process before you send it to the President for assent”.
He added, “And that process gives the opportunity for Parliament to reflect on what it has passed. And that is why, in the Constitution, there is no time limit given to Parliament after passage to submit to the President for assent. And on many occasions, we usually identify some inconsistencies or errors.
And then we go back to the House, where they refer to us as the second reconsideration stage. We use the process for recession, a motion of recession to rescind the decision of having read the bill a third time. And then use that to do it.
So it’s really not the law that once the Speaker says the bill is read a third time and passed, Parliament is functus officio.”
“In fact, we are very soon going to use it in connection with the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority Bill, which was passed in March,” he disclosed.
“All the bills are to be signed by the Clerk… After him, they have to be sent to me, and I have to go through it and make sure that everything is in order before I sign it and then direct that it be presented to the President for assent,” he said.
His comments follow an earlier call for a consensus on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, passed by parliament last week.
According to Alban Bagbin, the anti-LGBTQ+ bill is critical, and it must be passed with consensus.
He disclosed that he has invited leadership from both sides of Parliament for a meeting.
Speaker Bagbin also expressed surprise following the passage of the bill, revealing that his instruction was for the consideration of the bill and not the passage.
Speaking in a video, Alban Bagbin stated, “It was even a surprise to me because I thought we were going to start consideration of the bill. This is such a critical bill which must be passed with consensus. I have asked the leaders of both sides to meet me”.
However, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, a former Majority Leader in Parliament, has stressed that the Constitution does not permit the Speaker of Parliament to return a bill to the House once it has been passed.
According to Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, only President John Mahama can return the Anti-LGBTQ Bill to Parliament.
The former Majority Leader stressed that if any procedural lapses arise after a bill has been passed, only the President may trigger further action under the constitutional process.
Speaking in an interview on Kessben TV on June 11, 2026, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated, “It is against the Constitution and the Standing Orders to reintroduce the bill. There are processes to be followed before a bill is passed: First Reading, Second Reading, Consideration Stage, and Third Reading. A bill is not passed by the House unless it has gone through all these stages. Once it is passed, it moves from Parliament”.
“The president will have to consult the Attorney General… If there is any need for the bill to come back to Parliament, it is the president who can send it back, not the speaker”, he said.
Also, , the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has rejected the recently passed Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ Bill.
According to the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the previously passed anti-LGBTQ Bill is far better suited to address the moral and cultural imperatives at stake.
They argued that the anti-bill recently passed by the House is not what the majority of Christians and Ghanaians expected.
The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, however, commended parliament for the speed and prioritisation demonstrated in passing the recent Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, but noted that the passed bill falls short of the expectations of the Christian community.
In a statement, the GPCC stated, “ The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council commends Parliament for the speed and prioritisation demonstrated in passing the recent Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, it is our humble but firm position that the legislation, in its present state, falls short of the expectations of the Christian community and the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians, and may not be sufficiently robust to protect time-tested family values, our cultural heritage, and the moral fabric of our society.
“The Council respectfully draws attention to the earlier bill passed by the previous Parliament, which was more comprehensive and far better suited to address the moral and cultural imperatives at stake,” a statement by the GPCC is quoted.
“Whatever scrutiny this process may attract domestically or internationally, we stand firmly committed to upholding the values, sovereignty, and moral well-being of our beloved nation,” the Council added.
“I have only been here for one and a half years” — Hon. Haruna Iddrisu
— GHnow (@ghnow_) June 11, 2026
The Education Minister, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, has responded to concerns raised by the National Association of Institutional Suppliers (NAIS), stating that he has been in office for only about one and a half… pic.twitter.com/XYLX97MUj7
