Is a new LGBTQ+ law a priority for Ghanaians?

There is said to be strong public support for new legislation further criminalising same-sex relations.

But whether new legislation is a priority is dependent on who you ask.

On March 31, 2026, President John Mahama stated that ‘Ghana continues to face pressing concerns, including access to education, healthcare, jobs and other basic needs, which must remain the government’s top priority’.

Recent Afrobarometer data support the President’s claims that many Ghanaians want to see improvements in relation to these ‘bread and butter’ issues and expect the government to make progress in these regards. 

Priorities

Critics of the President’s position see things differently. For them, new legislation is a top priority.

Religious and traditional leaders want to see a new law as soon as possible.

Major religious bodies, including the National Chief Imam, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, agree that a new law is necessary  to protect Ghanaian cultural and moral values.

In addition, parliamentarians in the last Parliament expressed strong support for a new law.

A bill was originally passed by Parliament in February 2024, which the then President, Nana Akufo-Addo, did not sign into law.

What do ‘ordinary’ Ghanaians think about the issue?

Here, things get tricky.

A lack of recent representative public opinion surveys makes it difficult or impossible to gauge how Ghanaians feel about a new law.

Many are aware that Ghana already has such a law on the statute books, which dates from the colonial period.

It has never been repealed and so same sex relations are already criminalised in Ghana.

The question then becomes: is further criminalisation, with more extensive penalties for those found to have broken a (new) law, necessary?

Domestic critics of President Mahama’s position claim that there is overwhelming public support – 93 per cent is a figure often cited – for a new law.

The figure of 93 per cent is primarily attributed to a 2021 Afrobarometer survey, frequently cited by Ghanaian lawmakers and the media as evidence of national consensus, claiming to be direct measurement of ‘support for the bill’.

However, the original 2021 Afrobarometer study actually measured social tolerance rather than support for a new law, which would further criminalise same-sex relations.

Surveys

The 2021 Afrobarometer survey asked respondents how they would feel about having people in same-sex relationships as neighbours.

More than nine in 10 Ghanaians (93%) responded that they would ‘somewhat dislike’ or ‘strongly dislike’ having homosexual neighbours.

This result placed Ghana near the top in terms of social intolerance of homosexuals among 23 African countries surveyed during that period (2019–2021).

An April 2024 opinion poll undertaken by Global InfoAnalytics – to ascertain Ghanaians’ support of Parliament’s decision to approve the potential anti-LGBTQ+ law by region – indicated that there was not uniform national support for Parliament’s decision.

Some regions strongly agreed with ‘the decision of Parliament of Ghana to approve the anti-LGBTQ+ law’: Greater Accra (66 per cent), Volta (66 per cent) Northern (71 per cent), Savannah (78 per cent), Oti (80 per cent), Western North (84 per cent) and Bono (84 per cent).

One region (Upper West (72 per cent) did not ‘support the decision of Parliament of Ghana to approve the anti-LGBTQ+ law’, with 72 per cent of respondents against a new law.

Others indicated significant opposition to a new a law: Ahafo (45 per cent against), Ashanti (43 per cent against), North East (47 per cent against) and Eastern (41 per cent against).

So, who is correct: religious and traditional leaders who demand a new law as an essential protection of Ghanaian cultural and moral values or President Mahama stating that ‘bread and butter’ issues should take precedence?

Going forward

Without further evidence, it is difficult to identify which of the two polarised views is ‘correct’.

From social media, admittedly a controversial and unrepresentative source of information, there is support for and critiques of both positions.

On the one hand, those sympathetic to the President accept the argument that fixing Ghana’s economic and developmental shortfalls is the top priority.

On the other hand, opposition supporters and religious Ghanaians accuse President Mahama of duplicity for his critiques of the former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for not signing the bill into law, while appearing to do the same thing himself.

It is most unlikely that President Mahama’s recent comments will be the end of the matter.

It is of course unknown at the present time if Parliament will pass the private members’ bill currently before it to further criminalise same-sex relations.

If it transpires that Parliament does indeed pass the bill, then it is highly likely that there would be legal challenges. 

The next general election will take place in December 2028.

President Mahama will not be running again for President, so the bill will not be factor in whether he should be re-elected or not.

Potential presidential candidates will necessarily want to make potential voters aware of what their position is on the issue.

Whether or not that would be a decisive factor is choosing which candidate to vote for is unknown. 

The writer is an Emeritus Professor of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK.