Samuel Nartey George, a co-sponsor of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, has urged Parliament to forward the legislation to President John Dramani Mahama for the required constitutional steps.
George insists that the House’s Standing Orders offer no provision for revisiting the bill, despite the Speaker’s call for reconsideration. He maintains that once a bill is properly passed, Parliament’s responsibility ends, and authority shifts to the President.
Speaking to journalists on the margins of the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values, the lawmaker explained that the Speaker’s suggestion lacks backing in parliamentary procedure.
“I reviewed the Standing Orders after the Speaker’s appeal, and there is no clause that permits rescission,” George said. “Once Parliament passes a bill, it becomes functus officio. Our only remaining duty is to transmit it to the President. The Constitution clearly outlines what the President can do next, and he has already indicated he will carefully examine the bill.”
He stressed that any effort to reopen debate on the already-approved legislation would violate the House’s rules. “Parliament operates by rules, not by appeals,” George added. “If the rule book does not support what is being requested, we must follow the existing procedures.”
The remarks follow Speaker Alban Bagbin’s directive for Parliament to reconsider the bill. Bagbin made the call after engaging with Majority and Minority leaders in an effort to secure broader agreement on the contentious legislation.
On Tuesday, June 2, the Speaker expressed surprise that the bill had been fully passed on Friday, May 29. He had anticipated that the House would only reach the consideration stage by the end of proceedings that day.
Citing the bill’s importance and the intense public attention it has drawn, Bagbin emphasized the need for more extensive consultations and consensus among all relevant stakeholders before finalizing the process.
