A co-sponsor of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, Samuel Nartey George, has called on Parliament to transmit the legislation to President John Dramani Mahama for the necessary constitutional processes.
Mr. George contends that Parliament’s Standing Orders do not provide for a reconsideration of the bill following an appeal by the Speaker.
He argued that once a bill has been passed by Parliament, the House has completed its role and must forward it to the President for further action.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values, he maintained that the Speaker’s suggestion for a reconsideration of the bill is not supported by parliamentary procedure.
“The only role Parliament is to transmit the bill to the President. When it goes to the President, the President has indicated he would want to scrutinise the bill. The Constitution spells out the steps the President can take,” he said.
Mr. George stressed that Parliament should proceed with transmitting the bill to the President, insisting that any attempt to revisit its passage falls outside the rules governing the House.
“Parliament is a House of rules. Respectfully to Mr. Speaker, it is not a House of appeals. If there is no rule in the rule book that allows what is being sought, then we proceed by the rules we have,” he added.
His remarks come after Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin directed Parliament to reconsider the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, following consultations with the leadership of the House aimed at building broader consensus on the legislation.
The Speaker, on June 2, called for further engagement between the Majority and Minority leadership after expressing concerns about the process that led to the passage of the bill.
