The next stage will determine whether Ghana enacts the expanded framework or whether the legislation again stops after parliamentary passage. Until the president acts, however, the bill’s ultimate legal status remains unresolved. If ratified, the measure would extend legal exposure beyond same-sex conduct to specified forms of advocacy, financing and support, subject to the new professional exemptions.
Presidential ratification remained necessary. That distinction is particularly important because the previous bill completed its passage through parliament but expired without a presidential signature. Parliamentary approval was a major procedural step but did not by itself bring the new penalties into force.
The exemptions narrowed some possible applications without removing the bill’s central restrictions. Their practical importance would depend on enforcement after any presidential approval, while the lapse of the earlier measure showed that a parliamentary vote alone was not the final legal step.
Around 60 countries prohibit same-sex relations, and Africa accounts for roughly half of those jurisdictions, the global association ILGA reported. Their criticism comes within a wider global debate over criminal laws targeting consensual same-sex conduct. Human-rights groups and international organizations have condemned the proposal.
The supplied reporting said there had been no prosecutions under that provision. Ghana is a predominantly Christian country where conservative religious views exert substantial influence over public debate. In February 2025, Mahama publicly stated his belief that there are only two genders and that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The evidence did not state how he intended to act on the newly approved bill. The measure builds on an existing colonial-era law that already prohibits same-sex relationships in Ghana.
Those carve-outs distinguish professional services and reporting from conduct the bill categorizes as promotion or support. Media organizations could continue covering the subject, while healthcare professionals could provide treatment or psychological support to LGBT+ people. Lawyers would be able to represent LGBTQ clients without incurring penalties. The version approved in 2026 retained the central restrictions of the earlier measure but added defined exemptions for some professional activity.
Former president Nana Akufo-Addo did not sign that version before the parliamentary term ended. Under Ghana’s constitutional rules, proposed legislation that has not received presidential assent by the end of a term lapses, requiring the new parliament to consider and pass it again. The vote revived a legislative effort that had previously passed unanimously in 2024.
The bill provides for prison terms of up to three years for engaging in same-sex activity; promoting, financing or deliberately assisting LGBT+ initiatives would carry terms ranging from three to five years. Ghana’s parliament approved legislation that would deepen criminal penalties affecting LGBTQ people and those who promote or intentionally support LGBTQ activities, sending the measure to President John Mahama for a decision on ratification.
