The reintroduction of the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill in Parliament has hit a snag after the legislation was quietly removed from Wednesday’s Order Paper, sparking renewed debate over its current status and future.
The bill, officially known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, had been listed for consideration on Tuesday, October 21, but was conspicuously missing from the agenda the following day.
Explaining the development on the floor of Parliament, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga said the removal was based on the understanding that the bill had already been passed by the previous Parliament and forwarded to the Presidency for assent.
“We indicated that we thought the bills had been passed by this house already and had been sent to the presidency for assent. And so, we didn’t see the need to reconsider a bill that has already been passed by this house, waiting for presidential assent,” Ayariga told lawmakers.
He further clarified that unless the constitutional process for returning a bill to Parliament is initiated by the President, the House has no authority to revisit or relist it for debate.
“Unless the constitutional procedure for returning the bill to us is complied with by the president for us to reconsider and then use our two-thirds majority to approve the bill, even if the presidency had some issues with it, there’s no need to relist it,” he added.
According to the Majority Leader, the Speaker of Parliament subsequently directed the Clerk of Parliament to review the listing of the bill, resulting in its removal from the Order Paper.