Anti-LGBTQ+ bill hits snag after removal from order paper

The reintroduction of the controversial anti-LBGTQ bill in Parliament has suffered a setback after it was quietly removed from Wednesday’s Order Paper.

The bill, officially known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, had been listed for consideration on Tuesday, October 21, but was absent from the business agenda the following day.

Explaining the development on the floor of Parliament, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga said there was no need to re-lay the bill since it had already been passed by the previous Parliament and sent to the Presidency 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.

Ayariga noted that unless the constitutional procedure for returning a bill to Parliament is triggered by the President, the House has no business debating it again.

“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.

According to the Majority Leader, the Speaker subsequently instructed the Clerk of Parliament to reconsider his action, which led to the removal of the bill from the Order Paper.

The development has stirred renewed debate over the fate of the anti-LBGTQ bill, with some legal experts arguing that bills that are not assented to before the end of a parliamentary session may have to be re-laid.

Others, however, believe the legislation remains valid until the President formally returns it to the House.

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, widely referred to as the “anti-LGBTQ bill,” has been one of the most hotly debated pieces of legislation in recent years. It seeks to criminalise same-sex relationships and advocacy for LGBTQ rights in Ghana.

Its removal from Wednesday’s Order Paper raises fresh uncertainty about when — or if — the bill will receive presidential assent.