Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, says the House can still reconsider the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, even after it was passed on Friday, May 29.
Speaking on Thursday, during a courtesy call by the Supreme Court 150th Anniversary Planning Committee, Mr Bagbin dismissed claims that Parliament was “functus officio” on the Bill.
He said, “the Constitution allows Parliament to reflect on legislation after third reading but before presidential assent.”
“The recent debate where some lawyers came out strongly to say that by the Constitution, once a law is passed on the floor, Parliament is a functus officio. It’s not the law,” Mr Bagbin said.
“There is no time limit given to Parliament after passage to submit to the President for assent. On many occasions, we usually identify some errors. And then we go back to the House… We use the process for recession, a motion of recession to rescind the decision of having read the bill a third time. And then use that to do it. So, it’s really not the law that once the Speaker says the bill is read a third time and passed, Parliament is a functus officio,” he added.
The Speaker’s comments follow his directive on Tuesday, June 2, for further engagement between the Majority and Minority leadership.
He said he was surprised the Bill was fully passed on Friday, May 29, when he had expected Parliament to begin only the consideration stage.
Given the Bill’s public sensitivity and the national debate, it has generated, Mr Bagbin said it required broader consultation and consensus among stakeholders.
The Speaker confirmed that consultations with House leadership were aimed at building that consensus before the Bill was sent for presidential assent.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, passed its third reading on May 29 after months of public debate.
It now awaits the next constitutional step, which the Speaker said left room for Parliament to revisit and correct any issues.
Parliament’s power to rescind and reconsider legislation before assent has been used in previous Bills to address errors and inconsistencies identified after passage.
