The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has challenged the government, Parliament and key proponents of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill to explain what it describes as a dramatic shift in the handling of the controversial legislation.

In a statement, the group said recent developments surrounding the bill have raised serious questions about transparency, accountability and the accuracy of information previously presented to the Ghanaian public.

According to CDM, for years, Ghanaians were led to believe that the bill had completed all parliamentary processes and required only presidential assent to become law.

However, the group said recent legislative developments suggest the bill underwent extensive review and substantial amendments affecting “its definitions, offences, exemptions, institutional safeguards, and interpretative provisions.”

“The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has carefully examined the legislative developments surrounding the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill and is compelled to ask a simple but critical question: What changed?” the statement said.

CDM argued that the changes go beyond mere technical adjustments and amount to a significant departure from provisions contained in the original legislation.

The group specifically pointed to the removal of a provision prohibiting the subversion of family values.

According to CDM, the original bill criminalised actions that directly or indirectly encouraged, facilitated or promoted acts deemed to undermine family values as defined under the legislation.

However, it noted that the entire offence has been deleted from the version recently passed by Parliament.

“The deletion effectively eliminates one of the central enforcement mechanisms that sought to protect and preserve the family values the Bill was originally designed to uphold,” the statement said.

CDM described the amendment as “arguably the most consequential” change made to the legislation and said it raises fundamental questions about how much the current bill differs from the version that was vigorously promoted to the public.

The group further argued that the transition from calls for immediate presidential assent to what it described as an extensive legislative revision process raises concerns about consistency and openness in governance.

“If the legislation required such extensive amendments, then the Ghanaian people deserved to know this from the outset rather than being mobilised around a narrative of finality that appears inconsistent with subsequent legislative realities,” CDM stated.

The movement stressed that the debate should not be limited to the bill's contents but should also focus on what it called the integrity of democratic communication.

CDM is therefore calling on the government, Parliament and all principal actors associated with the bill to provide what it described as a clear and comprehensive explanation for the changes.

“Specifically, Ghanaians deserve answers as to why the Bill was presented as complete when it evidently required substantial revision, whether these amendments were anticipated during earlier advocacy campaigns, and whether public discourse was shaped by incomplete or misleading representations of the legislative process,” the statement said.

The group also called for an official clarification and, where necessary, “an unqualified apology” to Ghanaians and international stakeholders for any confusion or miscommunication surrounding the handling of the bill.

“Democratic governance demands transparency, accuracy, and honesty, and the truth must never be sacrificed for political convenience,” CDM stated.