Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: Parliament rescinds earlier passage; bill to return for further consideration

Parliament has rescinded its earlier decision to pass the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2025, following the discovery of inconsistencies between decisions taken by the House and the version of the legislation drafted after its third reading.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, announced the decision on Tuesday, November 10, explaining that the inconsistencies were identified by the Legislation Drafting Department during its review of the bill.

He said the errors could not be corrected by the drafters because they involved decisions already taken by Parliament and would therefore require the House to reconsider them.

“It's important I draw attention to why this is being done. This is being done because after the third reading, there's a department here we refer to as the Legislation Drafting Department. They are the drafters who draft all what we do here, the decisions we take. And so they do what they call tracking,” he told the House.

Speaker Bagbin explained that although minor drafting errors could be corrected by the department, changes involving decisions of Parliament could not be made without the approval of the House.

“If they were just minor errors, the draft people could put them right. But once they are decisions, they cannot tamper with the decision of the House. It has to be brought back for the House to do the proper thing,” he said.

He said the bill had therefore been brought back before Parliament for the House to rescind its earlier decision and reconcile the identified inconsistencies before proceeding with the necessary parliamentary processes.

The Speaker subsequently put the question to members, and the House voted in favour of rescinding its earlier decision on the bill.

“Honourable members, the Ayes have it. The House has accordingly rescinded its earlier decision, which was taken on Friday, 29th May 2026, in respect of the third reading of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2025,” he said.

The bill is expected to return to the House for further consideration, and another passage after the inconsistencies have been reconciled.