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Ghanaian Chronicle
February 27,
2003
Summary: A Member of
Parliament in Ghana suggested that the Parliament should change to a
full representation (proportional representation) system, from the
current plurality system. Also, different formulas are discussed for
adding seats to the Parliament to cope with Ghana’Äôs growing
population.
Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghana
MP pushes for proportional representation
February 27, 2003 Mr. Kofi Attoh, Member of Parliament for Ho
Central on Monday, this week, suggested a Proportional
Representation system to increase the membership of Parliament for
the 2004 elections. He said the Proportional Representation would
be the best solution to creating a level platform for all shades of
opinion and interest groups as well as offer minority parties
opportunity to be represented in the House. Mr. Attoh stated this
in a contribution to discussions at a Public Forum in Accra,
organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs on: ˆ¢’Ǩ‰ìThe Source and
Nature of Monitoring And Implementation Problems Facing The
Electoral Commission.ˆ¢’Ǩ¬ù Mr. Attoh explained two forms of
Proportional Representation that Ghana should consider; the first,
where parties are represented in Parliament based on the percentage
of votes received during elections and the second system where the
current 200 constituencies were contested for but additional seats
were gained based on the percentage of votes obtained. The
Electoral Commission had indicated proposals for the increment of
the current 200 - member Parliament to about 240 for the next
general election. The EC said the formula for the calculation was
not based on simple mathematical factors. The Commission had,
therefore, proposed three analytical formulas for consideration; the
one based on re-distribution of the 200 constituencies based on
weights of one to land size and nine to census population. Based on
this formula the Western Region would gain an additional seat from
the current 19 to 20 seats, Greater Accra would gain six more from
22 to 28 and the Ashanti Region would also gain three more seats
from 33 to 36. The Brong Ahafo and Northern Regions would retain
their current number of 21 and 23 respectively, whilst the Upper
East Region would lose two seats from its current 12 to 10, Upper
West would also lose one from its current eight to seven, Central
Region would lose one, from 17 to 16, Volta would lose two seats
from 19 to 17 and Eastern would also lose four seats from 26 to 22.
The second proposal is based on fresh redistribution of
constituencies based on weights of one land size and nine to
population. Under this system the EC proposed four different levels
of increments of 210, 220, 230, and 240 seats. The Western Region
would gain between three and five extra seats, Central would either
gain one or two seats, while Greater Accra would gain between seven
and eleven more seats. Others are the Volta Region would either
lose one seat to maintain its current 19 seats or gain one or two
extra seats, Eastern would either maintain its current number of 26
seats or lose between one and four and Ashanti would gain between
five and eleven extra seats. The rest are Brong Ahafo Region gains
between one and four extra seats, Northern Region gains between one
and six extra seats, Upper East Region would lose either one or two
seats and the Upper West Region would also lose either one or
maintained its current number of eight seats. The third formula by
the Commission is based on each region retaining its present number
of Constituencies and increment based on allocated quota. Under the
third system, Western gains between one and four, Central gains
between one and three, Greater Accra gains between one and six,
Volta gains between one and four with Eastern also gaining between
one and four. The rest are Ashanti gaining between one and seven,
Brong Ahafo gaining between one and four, Northern Region gaining
between one and five, Upper East gaining either one or two and Upper
West either maintaining its current eight or gains one extra. The
Commission explained that the average number of persons represented
by a Member of Parliament in 1970 was one MP to 61,138; in 1987 it
was one MP to 67,771 and 2000 is one MP to 94,560. According to the
EC if the number of seats is increased to 240, the ratio would be
one to 78,800; that of 230 seats would be a ratio of one to 82,226;
while 220 seats gives one to 85,964, and 210 ratio would be one to
90,058. The EC has noted that based on the 2000 Population and
Housing Census the figure of 18.9 million Ghanaians, the voting age
population came to about 9.8 million, representing about 52 per cent
of the total population, however, the current register contained
about 11 million names representing 58 per cent. Earlier the main
speaker, Mr. David Adenze-Kanga, had called for support for the
Commission to be equipped for it to perform its constitutional
mandate effectively. Mr. Justice D. F. Annan, Former Speaker of
Parliament, in his intervention appealed to the Commission and the
National Identification System to co-ordinate and iron out the
Constitutional misunderstanding. |
