Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has revealed that he was surprised when Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-gay bill, on Friday, May 29, 2026.
Speaking at a media engagement in Accra on Monday, June 1, 2026, Bagbin said he did not expect the bill to be passed that day because lawmakers were only expected to begin the consideration stage.
“In fact, when it was passed on Friday, it was even a surprise to me, because I knew that they were going to start the consideration of the bill, and that was the instruction I left before I went to attend to other activities,” he said.
According to him, he assumed Members of Parliament would not complete work on the bill because many were eager to leave early for their constituencies ahead of Monday’s sitting.
“It was Friday, and members wanted to go home early to their constituencies because we were going to sit today, and so I knew they wouldn’t have completed it. But all of a sudden, I read about this passage, I reacted, and later I saw on TV all the things that happened,” he added.
Bagbin noted that extensive consultations and reviews were undertaken before the bill reached Parliament, including examinations of international human rights instruments, cultural values, and proposals from development partners.
“We had to go through all of them. From the UN Charter to the African People’s Rights Charter. We had the United Nations coming in with proposals, some memos, and everything. We, as Ghanaians, also had to dig deeper into our cultures, our customs, and our values before we came out with what was passed on Friday,” he stated.
The Speaker also disclosed that he had invited leaders of both sides of Parliament to discuss concerns surrounding the bill and determine the next steps.
“And so this evening, I have asked the leaders to meet me in my office. This is such a critical bill that we believe there must be consensus. It’s not about passing a bill; it’s about implementing it and making sure that it benefits the people,” he said.
Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill for a second time on May 29, 2026, after it was reintroduced with several amendments.
The original version of the bill was passed in 2024 but was not signed into law by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The revised bill includes exemptions for lawyers providing legal representation to LGBTQ persons, journalists reporting on LGBTQ-related issues, and healthcare professionals offering medical or counselling services.
Despite objections from the Minority, who argued that the amendments significantly altered the original bill, Parliament proceeded to approve the legislation.
