President of Advocates for Christ, Edem Senanu, has endorsed decisions by President John Dramani Mahama and Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, recently passed by Parliament.
During an interview on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Monday, June 1, 2026, Mr. Senanu said the President and the Speaker’s comments which considers a relook at the Bill in Parliament is a “good thing.”
According to him, there are many questions that demand answers on the Clause 9 of the Bill which contains several exemptions which many have questioned the essence, with the Minority in Parliament for instance saying the Bill has been watered down with those exemptions.
He added that he would have expected President Mahama to send the Bill back to Parliament under Article 106, if the contentious weaknesses had not been identified.
“When I looked at it, I have a number of questions on one or two exemptions on the Clause 9 part of it. I think it’s a good thing that they are taking a second look at it, otherwise I would have expected that the President under Article 106 would identify some of these weaknesses and send it back to Parliament,” he said.
His position follows comments by President Mahama who has indicated that the Bill still has a long way to go before it can become law.
Speaking during a question-and-answer session at Chatham House in UK on Monday, June 1, 2026, President Mahama said several procedural and legal issues surrounding the bill must first be addressed before any decision is taken on presidential assent.
The President noted that the legislation has attracted significant public attention because of its implications for family values and social policy in Ghana.
“The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has probably been the bill that has evoked the most interest in Ghana. It shows how important issues of family values are,” he said.
According to him, questions have already emerged regarding the manner in which the bill was passed by Parliament, citing concerns over whether there was a quorum at the time of its passage, as well as allegations of procedural lapses during the legislative process.
“There have been a few issues raised. One, that there wasn’t quorum when it was passed. That’s an issue that has come up, and then two, there were some procedural lapses in terms of its passage,” he stated.
Mahama revealed that he had received information that the Speaker of Parliament was addressing concerns raised about the process through which the bill was approved.
He explained that once the bill is formally transmitted to the Presidency, it will undergo a thorough legal review before any decision is taken.
The President said the Attorney General and legal advisers at the Presidency would scrutinise the legislation because it originated as a private member’s bill rather than a government-sponsored bill.
“It must come for assent and so once the President gets it, you go through it because you are not part of the discussion in Parliament. The legal counsel in the Presidency and the Attorney General would sit on it and make sure that everything is in order before the President is advised to assent,” he said.
Mahama also outlined other constitutional options available to the President, including referring the bill to the Council of State for advice if concerns arise.
He explained that if substantial issues are identified, the President could return the bill to Parliament and specify the concerns that need to be addressed.
“The President has another option. If there are some things that he thinks are a problem, he can refer it to the Council of State for advice. If substantial issues are raised, the President would return the bill to Parliament indicating exactly what the issues are,” he said.
He concluded by stressing that the legislative process is not yet complete. “So there’s still quite a while to go before that bill becomes law,” he added.
Meanwhile, Speaker Bagbin has also indicated that he is surprised at the rate at which the Bill was passed.
It was even a surprise to me – Speaker Bagbin on passage of anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
