Ghana’s Parliament adjourned without reconsidering the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2026, despite Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin assuring National Chief Imam Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu that lawmakers would review and pass the legislation before the House went into recess.
The bill, widely known as the Anti-LGBTQ Bill, was not brought back for consideration before Parliament adjourned sine die on Friday, 31 July 2026. The adjournment marked the end of the second meeting of the second session of the Ninth Parliament.
A motion seeking to rescind Parliament’s earlier decision on the bill had been included on the Order Paper for the final sitting. However, lawmakers were unable to adopt the motion before the House rose.
Mr Bagbin had given the assurance during a courtesy visit to Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, saying Parliament intended to complete its reconsideration of the bill before the adjournment.
He explained that the existing version required further scrutiny, particularly the clauses dealing with sentencing and the punishment regime contained in the proposed legislation.
The Speaker said concerns had been raised about three key clauses and that those provisions needed to be addressed before the bill could return to Parliament for final approval.
“Our intention is to do it before we go on recess. We are likely to do so even by tomorrow so that it assures you that the members you elected to Parliament are doing what you have asked them to do,” the Speaker stated.
Despite that commitment, no further consideration of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill took place before Parliament ended its sitting.
Mr Bagbin said the review was necessary to ensure that the penalties set out in the bill were properly examined. He indicated that Parliament would revisit the legislation after considering those issues, with the intention of completing the process and passing the bill before the House went into recess.
He also rejected the suggestion that the bill was being used for political purposes. According to the Speaker, support for the proposed legislation extended across religious and social groups, rather than being confined to one political position.
“There is no politics at all. Anybody who wants to take political advantage, just disregard it. Both Muslims and Christians agree, even the unbelievers know that if we don’t pass it, we are acting against the decree of God,” he said.
The failed attempt to reconsider the bill means that Parliament’s earlier decision remains unchanged for now. The motion listed on the Order Paper was intended to reverse that decision and allow lawmakers to take another look at the legislation, including the clauses concerning sentencing.
The bill is formally titled the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2026, but is commonly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill. Its reconsideration had been presented by the Speaker as an issue Parliament would resolve before the end of the sitting.
However, the House adjourned sine die without adopting the motion, leaving the promised review and passage incomplete before the recess.
