Ghana’s Parliament has withdrawn its approval of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, so MPs can examine and correct inconsistencies before it is sent to President John Dramani Mahama.
The Majority Leader, James Agalga, moved the motion to rescind the Bill’s passage on Monday, November 10, 2026. The decision reverses approval given at the third-reading stage, when a Bill is considered to have been passed, and returns it to the stage immediately before that vote.
Mr Agalga had warned last week that technical errors in the calculation of penalty units could create difficulties for the courts. Speaking to Joy News on Wednesday, November 4, he said: “For instance, how to compute penalty units was completely done in error, in some cases. The penal provisions are not aligned. They are not aligned properly.”
He said the penalties needed to correspond with existing legislation, warning that the Bill could face serious implementation problems if the errors were not corrected.
“Otherwise, the bill as it stands in this current form would have serious challenges when it comes to implementation,” he said.
Mr Agalga described the proposed changes as technical rather than a change to the Bill’s purpose. “So, not much of substance would change,” he said.
He also rejected claims that the delay showed President Mahama had changed his position. “Contrary to all the wild speculations that the President has shifted goalposts and all that. No, he hasn’t,” he said. “It’s Parliament’s work. We have the duty of enacting laws.”
He said the corrected Bill would be presented to the President this month, before Parliament rises. Asked whether that deadline would be met, he replied: “Absolutely.”
What happens next?
Parliament’s Standing Orders state that a question settled during the same session can be reopened only through a substantive Motion for rescission. By approving Mr Agalga’s motion, MPs cancelled the third reading and made a second consideration possible.
At that stage, a member may propose deleting, amending or adding a provision. After the corrections, the Bill must go through a third reading again before the Clerk can transmit it to the President.
Under Article 106 of the Constitution, the President has seven days after receiving a Bill to tell the Speaker whether he assents or refuses it, unless he refers it to the Council of State.
Speaker Alban Bagbin said at the opening of the current meeting last Tuesday that he would name any MP who obstructed the Bill’s progress. He also reiterated his intention to complete the process during the meeting.
Bill’s five-year history
The legislation was first introduced in 2021 as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021. Eight MPs, led by Sam Nartey George, sponsored it. It received its first reading on August 2, 2021, its second reading on July 5, 2023, and was then considered by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
The 8th Parliament passed it unanimously on February 28, 2024. It included custodial sentences for same-sex conduct and for the promotion, sponsorship or support of LGBTQ+ activities.
The passage prompted international condemnation and warnings about possible effects on Ghana’s development funding. Human rights organisations, including the “Big 18” coalition of 18 civil society groups, had opposed the Bill from the outset.
Then-President Nana Akufo-Addo did not assent to it while the Supreme Court considered challenges brought by broadcaster Richard Dela-Sky and researcher Amanda Odoi. They argued that the Bill breached constitutional rights.
In December 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed those cases as premature because the Bill had not become law. It later lapsed when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2024 general election.
A group of 10 MPs reintroduced it in March 2025 as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, under the Private Member’s Bill procedure. President Mahama said he supported the principle of the legislation but believed it should be introduced as a government Bill.
He has stated: “I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist man and woman. And that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Parliament passed the revived Bill on May 29, 2026. Its main provisions remained largely unchanged, including a maximum three-year prison sentence for people who engage in homosexual relations and three to five years for the promotion, sponsorship or intentional support of LGBTQ+ activities. The version also contained exemptions intended to protect certain professional duties.
The vote was followed by controversy. Speaker Bagbin said it had surprised him and ordered Parliament to revisit the process in pursuit of bipartisan approval. The Minority opposed amendments concerning professional services, saying they weakened the legislation.
Parliament went into recess in July without resolving disagreements over the punishment provisions.
On June 1, 2026, three days after the vote, President Mahama told Chatham House in London that the Attorney-General and the Presidency’s legal team would examine the Bill before advising him on assent. He said he would return it to Parliament if substantial problems were found.
That review, together with Parliament’s own examination, identified the inconsistencies now being addressed. The Bill is once again before MPs for second consideration and, if the corrections are completed, will face another third reading before being sent to President Mahama.
