GHANA?S PARLIAMENT is likely to retain the same 200 seats as before, if the proposed review made by the Electoral Commission (EC) on the division of constituencies is accepted.

Under the review, the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western Regions would be the highest beneficiaries.

Greater Accra which has 28 seats would have six more added to it, Ashanti with its 33 would gain three more, whilst Western region?s 20 will increase by one.

Sources close to the Commission hinted that some of the regions are likely to lose a few seats, whilst others will keep their traditional number of seats.

Available documents indicate that the Central region will lose two seats from its 17 to 15, the Volta Region may go down from 19 constituencies to 17. Eastern region will lose four seats, from 26 to 22, whilst the Upper East and Upper West regions will lose two and one seats, respectively, from 12 and 8 to ten and one, respectively.

Brong-Ahafo and Northern regions are not likely to see any changes in their number of constituencies comprising, 21 and 23, respectively.

The sources explained that in 1970, Ghana?s population was about 8.6 million, and the number of constituencies was 140, so on the average, each Member of Parliament (MP) represented about 61,000 people.

After re-demarcation of the constituencies in 1987, the number of constituencies increased from 140 to 200. The population at that time was about 13.6 million, which placed an average MP as representing 68,000 people.

According to the 2000 census, Ghana?s population stands at about 19.9 million. This gives cause to a case for the increase in the number of constituencies, consequently, increasing the number of Parliamentarians.

However, the sitting capacity of the Parliament House has financial and structural implications.

Documents seen by the Daily Guide indicate that the will to proceed on the re-demarcation of constituencies is a political one, as this could involve the actual drawing of constituency boundaries on the ground, a step which would involve extensive consultations, particularly with district assemblies and traditional authorities.

Meanwhile, the EC has proposed a replacement of the voters? register.

The EC has indicated that on the basis of the 2000 population census, an estimate of Ghana?s voting age population comes to about 52 per cent of the total population.

Yet, out of the country?s current population of 18.9 million, over 11 million people (representing 58 per cent of the population) are on the voters? register.

This situation, according to the EC, suggests that the voter?s register, first done in 1995, is out of shape.

The Commission, Daily Guide is reliably informed, has included in its budget for 2003 estimates for a complete replacement of the voters? register.

?This means that every eligible person will have to register afresh and be given a photo ID card?. According to the EC, this is achievable within nine months from the third quarter of 2003, provided adequate resources are made readily available.

It is envisaged by the Commission that all things being equal, it would have finished the review of the division of the country into constituencies, and the replacement of the voter?s register before the 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, depending, of course on the timely release of the requisite funds.