Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has ruled that the controversial Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, must be reintroduced in the current 9th Parliament, as all pending business from the dissolved 8th Parliament has lapsed.
The ruling, delivered during Tuesday’s sitting, ends a week of parliamentary debate sparked by Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s assertion that the bill—passed by the 8th Parliament in March 2024—remains valid and does not require reintroduction. Bagbin firmly rejected this, stating: “The eighth Parliament is history. So are all the businesses that were pending… They all ended with the eighth Parliament and so we have a new Parliament.”
He clarified that former President Nana Akufo-Addo received the transmitted bill but refused assent without returning it to Parliament with reasons—a constitutional breach. “They wrote to tell us they would not assent… The only constitutional error they committed was that they didn’t give us reasons and did not transmit the bill back to us. They imprisoned it there,” Bagbin said.
Originally a private member’s bill sponsored by a coalition of MPs and backed by traditional, religious, and civil society groups, the legislation faced pressure from the previous government to be adopted as a public bill—a move Bagbin opposed.
“I personally disagreed and made it known to His Excellency the President that this was an initiative of our people… and so we would process it as a private member’s bill,” he recalled.
Before reintroduction, the Speaker said he must fulfill procedural duties under the Standing Orders, including gazetting and laying the bill before the House.
The bill, which criminalizes LGBTQ+ activities and advocacy with penalties up to 10 years, remains a flashpoint amid international pressure and domestic support from faith-based organizations.
