Pass the original 2024 LGBTQ+ bill - NPP

Amid the confusion of parliamentary quorum disputes, conflicting statements from within the ruling party, and allegations of private diplomatic assurances given on foreign soil, the NPP Minority Caucus has planted its flag with unmistakable clarity: the original Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, as passed by the 8th Parliament in 2024, must be restored and transmitted to President Mahama for assent without modification.

The Minority Caucus, in its June 4, 2026 statement, stripped the debate down to its core: "The Minority Caucus holds that the Bill passed in 2024 by the 8th Parliament, which President John Dramani Mahama pledged to assent to, must be passed in its original state and transmitted for presidential assent. That is the aspiration of the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians."

The statement, signed by Minority Leader Afenyo-Markin, is notable for its discipline and precision. Unlike many political communications that hedge and qualify, this one does not. The NPP is not asking for a dialogue about amendments or a review committee. It is demanding a specific outcome: the original 2024 text, unchanged.

This position is grounded in what the NPP describes as a democratic mandate. In 2024, the NDC used the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill as a central electoral promise. They argued that the NPP-dominated government was failing to assent to legislation that Ghanaians overwhelmingly supported. On the strength of that argument, and others, the NDC won the election.

The NPP's logic is therefore straightforward: the NDC secured power on a platform that included a commitment to the Bill. That mandate now obliges them to honour the same Bill they campaigned on, not a revised, amended version bearing their fingerprints, but the original document that unified the 8th Parliament across party lines.

The NPP's firm stand also serves a political purpose. By staking out the clearest possible position — original Bill, no compromises — the Minority ensures that any deviation by the NDC becomes a visible and documentable breach of faith. There are no grey areas into which the ruling party can retreat.

For the NPP, this is not merely about one piece of legislation. It is about establishing whether electoral promises in Ghana mean anything at all, and whether a party that wins on a moral platform can simply discard that platform once the votes have been counted.