Government approves CRC proposal to cap Parliament at 300 seats
The government has accepted a recommendation to place a constitutional limit on the size of Parliament, proposing that the total number of Members of Parliament (MPs) should not exceed 300.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, announced the decision while presenting the government's White Paper on the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) on Thursday, July 30.
The proposal forms part of a broader package of constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening Ghana's democratic institutions, improving governance and promoting greater inclusiveness in the country's political system.
Dr. Ayine explained that the proposed arrangement would preserve the existing constituency-based electoral system while introducing a proportional representation component to enhance the participation of groups that have historically been underrepresented in Parliament.
Under the proposal, the current 276 constituency-based parliamentary seats will remain unchanged, while an additional 24 seats will be filled through a proportional representation system to increase the representation of women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and young people.
“The government has accepted that the size of Parliament be capped and we propose a ceiling of 300 members. The current membership of Parliament is 276 and so these will be elected directly in constituency elections like we already have and the remaining 24 will be elected or selected through proportional representation among women, persons with disabilities and the youth.
“An independent study will be commissioned into the design of the proportional representation element. Capping Parliament saves cost and the reserve element opens the doors of our legislature wider to those that our politics have historically kept outside.”
According to the Attorney-General, the government will commission an independent study to determine the most appropriate design and implementation framework for the proportional representation system.
The proposed reforms are intended to reduce the cost of governance while ensuring that Parliament becomes more representative by creating opportunities for women, persons with disabilities and the youth to participate more meaningfully in the country's legislative process.