Minority wants Mahama to assent to Family Values Bill without amendments

The Minority in Parliament has urged President John Dramani Mahama to ensure the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, is passed and presented for his assent without amendments that could undermine its original intent.

The opposition says the National Democratic Congress (NDC), while in opposition, supported the legislation and called on former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to assent to the previous version after Parliament passed it in 2024.

It is now demanding that President Mahama demonstrate the same commitment by ensuring that the current Bill retains the provisions the NDC previously endorsed.

Speaking at a Leaders’ Media Briefing on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, ahead of Parliament’s resumption, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the government must remain consistent with its earlier position on the legislation.

He said the Minority wanted the President to ensure that the Bill was not subjected to further delays or changes that could weaken its provisions.

Mr Afenyo-Markin stressed that Parliament must vote on the actual text of the legislation rather than a version altered through late amendments.

“The outstanding legislation and the Family Values Bill, then in opposition, the NDC said that the bill, as it was then, must be signed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he said.

He added that the Minority was seeking to ensure that the Bill previously supported by the NDC remained the same legislation presented to President Mahama for assent.

“We, the Minority, will want to secure two things: that citizens’ rights are protected and that the original bill, that the NDC promised and passed in opposition, should be the same bill that must be signed by President John Dramani Mahama,” he stated.

The Minority Leader cautioned against introducing last-minute amendments that could alter the substance of the legislation.

“We don’t want any late amendments carved out or delayed to water it down. Every member must vote on the actual text,” he said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin further emphasised the need for the legislation to protect rights through clear and constitutionally consistent provisions.

“Rights must be protected by precise drafting, consistent with the 1992 Constitution. Blanket exemptions are not safeguards, they are a dilution,” he added.

The Minority’s position comes as Parliament prepares to resume business, with the opposition insisting that the government must honour its previous support for the legislation and ensure that the Bill proceeds without changes that could weaken its original provisions.