Formula for creating 45 new constituencies is reckless - CDD

The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has joined in the campaign against the creation of the 45 new constituencies by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) across the country.

CDD-Ghana says the procedure adopted by the EC to create the proposed new constituencies is flawed and inconsistent with Article 47 of the 1992 Constitution.

According to CDD-Ghana, Article 47 (5) of the 1992 Republican Constitution, which mandates the EC to review the division of Ghana into constituencies “does not necessarily compel an increment in the number of constituencies.”

This was contained in a press release from the policy think-tank and copied to RadioXYZonline.com.

The decision to create the 45 new constituencies have been received with a mixed reaction as the EC is facing two lawsuits pending at the Supreme Court and at a Fast Track High Court.

Opposition parties have slammed the EC for failing to follow the laid down rules in creating the constituencies. Officials of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have also accused the government of manipulating the process as well.

The EC has however maintained that it is only following laid down regulations.

But the CDD said it is “totally convinced that the prevailing practice by which the EC’s review of constituencies automatically leads to an increase in the number of parliamentary constituencies is wrong and unsustainable”

The think-tank said even if the EC decides to exercise its discretion in the implementation of the constitutional provision for the creation of the constituencies, “population quota must be the primary consideration in apportioning constituencies (as dictated by Article 47(3) of the Constitution) in abiding by the principles of democratic representation.”

CDD-Ghana also took issue with the timing of the creation of the constituencies. It says with all the challenges facing the EC, it should have focused on the testing the new biometric register ahead of the crucial December polls.

“The timing of the creation of the additional constituencies also presents its own challenges to the electoral calendar. The EC is already late in meeting its own original schedule regarding preparations toward December 7. It will make good public management sense for the EC to put its energy into providing a credible and reliable biometric voter register and getting ready for the December polls, which from all indications, is going to be closely contested.”

It said the financial pressure that the creation of the constituencies will bring to the government’s purse is a luxury the country must avoid.

It said: “The Center is also worried about the logistical and financial implications of the decision to create new constituencies. It will impose additional burdens on the country’s already stretched public finances. The addition of 45 constituencies will necessarily require modifications to the physical structure of the existing chamber of Parliament. It would have to be re-designed to accommodate 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) from 2013. In addition, the country will be saddled with the additional financial burden of catering for 45 MPs for the next 4 years, in addition to financing ex-gratia payments for 275 MPs in 2017.”

CDD-Ghana believes it is unfair for the Ghanaian taxpayers to be made to feel the brunt of this demanding financial project when parliament over the years has failed to protect the national purse.

The statement said much as they uphold and respect the principle of representation as fundamental to democratic good governance, “the current formula and procedure for realizing this objective is reckless.”

CDD-Ghana assert that “the timing of the creation of these constituencies and the consequent financial cost do not suggest sound public policy planning and good financial management practice,”

The think-tank is therefore urging the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament to examine the EC’s proposal to create additional 45 constituencies in a bipartisan fashion and reject it accordingly.**