Ghanaian media personality, Kwaku Sintim-Misa (KSM), has disagreed with Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin's call for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, to be reconsidered.

Speaking on his show on June 4, 2026, KSM argued that the Deputy Speaker had the full authority of the Speaker when presiding over parliamentary proceedings and that decisions taken under such circumstances remain valid.

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He explained that the Constitution empowers a Deputy Speaker to act as Speaker whenever the substantive Speaker is absent from the chair.

"Mr Speaker, the role of the Speaker is in the constitution and when the Speaker is not there and the Deputy Speaker is in charge, according to the constitution, he becomes the Speaker. He has the power of the Speaker, he has the might of the Speaker, and his words and his actions and his deeds carry the impact of a Speaker," he said.

KSM stated that unless there had been a change in the law, he did not understand why decisions taken in the absence of the Speaker should be questioned.

"And Mr Speaker, you should know this, unless the law has changed and I haven’t been informed that the only person who can be a speaker and who is authorized to make decisions is Alban Bagbin. Tell me and I'll understand, then I'll get you off your back and I apologise for my ignorance," he added.

The broadcaster said he was open to having his interpretation tested in court but maintained that he disagreed with the Speaker's position.

"But Bagbin, I beg to differ. Maybe lawyers and other people, you can go to the Supreme Court and argue what I've said and test the interpretation from the Supreme Court. When it comes out that I'm lying, I will use the same platform to apologize," he stated.

KSM further argued that the passage of the bill should not be invalidated simply because Bagbin was not presiding when Parliament approved it.

"But as I stand here now, Bagbin, I think you have erred in saying that the proceedings should begin again because it was passed and you were not the one in the chair," he indicated.

According to him, decisions passed by Parliament remain valid once the House has approved them, unless there are other procedural issues such as quorum.

"So, I am saying that I beg to differ because if the argument, as we've been hearing, is that because you were not the one sitting there and that thing was passed, it is no longer valid, No. According to the Constitution, when a decision has been made and it's passed, it's passed. Parliament has passed it,” he further argued.

He added that while concerns about quorum could be a different matter, he had not heard such arguments being raised in relation to the call for reconsideration.

"So, if you some other arguments like the quorum that is fine but from what I was hearing I didn’t hear anything about quorum. I just heard he wasn’t present and parliament rushed to pass something and he believes it is important there should be reconsideration," KSM said.

Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: Bagbin appeals to Parliament to revisit passage process

His comments follow Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin's directive for Members of Parliament to reconsider the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025.

Bagbin called for further engagement between the Majority and Minority leadership after concerns were raised about the process that led to the passage of the bill.

Watch the video from 30:00 minute onward:



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