Parliament has no power to increase seats

Parliament has no power to increase the number of seats in the House. However it can create enough space for a few more members if there is an increase, says the Majority Leader, Papa Owusu Ankomah.

He stated that the House, therefore, has no hand in moves to augment its number of seats. Papa Owusu Ankomah was speaking the ‘Times’ in Accra on Wednesday. He explained that it was the Electoral Commission (EC) which had the prerogative to do so since it was the only body mandated by the Constitution to review the division of the country into constituencies and electoral areas after every census.

“Consultations are on-going and what Parliament can do is to suggest, but the EC is not bound in anyway to what we say,” Paapa Ankomah said. The interview with the ‘Times’ was after consultations between the EC and other stakeholders on the creation of more constituencies in the country. He said that seating was no problem as more room could be created in the chamber to accommodate more members, but he indicated that more money would have to be spent to provide facilities for new members.