Speaker Bagbin directs Parliament to reconsider anti-LGBTQ Bill over bipartisan consensus concerns
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has directed the House to revisit the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ bill, following concerns over whether the level of bipartisan support reflected in the committee report was adequately demonstrated during proceedings on the floor.
The directive was issued on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, after questions were raised about the manner in which the bill was passed by Parliament on Friday, May 29, 2026.
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The Speaker expressed surprise that the bill had been fully passed, explaining that he had anticipated Parliament would only begin the consideration stage before proceedings were concluded.
According to the Speaker, the committee report that accompanied the bill indicated that members from both the Majority and Minority sides unanimously supported the proposed legislation. However, he noted that the same bipartisan consensus was not clearly reflected during the bill's passage in the House.
Bagbin explained that where a committee presents a report indicating unanimous or bipartisan support for a bill, that consensus ought to be evident in the proceedings and decision-making process on the floor of Parliament.
"Neither did the proceedings of that day convey the unanimity, nor bipartisan understanding upon which the bill was initially promoted and deliberated upon," he said.
It is therefore the Speaker's view that Parliament must return to reconsider aspects of the bill's passage to ensure that the bipartisan support captured in the committee report is properly demonstrated and reflected in the legislative process.
"My concern is that legislation of such profound national importance should proceed on a foundation of broad parliamentary support, bipartisan cooperation, and scrupulous adherence to the procedures established by the Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament. The legitimacy, credibility, and enduring authority of any law depend not only on the objectives sought to be achieved, but also on the integrity of the process by which the law is enacted," he added.
He further explained that "a legislation of this magnitude ought, as far as practicable, to command not merely the numerous support of a majority of Members, but also the broad confidence of the House regarding both its sustenance and the process by which it was adopted."
"What is right must be done rightly," Bagbin said.
