Politics

NPP opposes proposal to raise parliamentary seats to 300

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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has opposed the Constitutional Review Committee’s (CRC) proposal to increase the number of seats in Ghana’s Parliament from 276 to a maximum of 300.

The party argues that there is not enough evidence to show that a larger legislature would necessarily improve parliamentary effectiveness, representation or governance.

The NPP’s position was presented by the Gushegu Member of Parliament, Sulemana Tampuli Alhassan, at a press conference on Thursday, September 17, 2026, as the party responded to proposals under the ongoing constitutional reform process.

Mr Alhassan said the party rejects both the CRC’s recommendation and the government’s proposal to expand Parliament, maintaining that the existing number of MPs is already significant in relation to Ghana’s population.

Read also: Full Text: NPP’s position on the review of the 1992 Constitution

He said any decision to create additional parliamentary seats should be supported by evidence demonstrating how the expansion would resolve challenges facing the legislature.

“Both the CRC and the government recommended an expanded legislature. To have a ceiling of 300 legislators. The additional 24 legislators will be based on proportional representation, including women, the youth, and also persons with disabilities. We disagree with both positions. We think that Ghana’s current Parliamentary representation is already substantial in relation to the population.

“A country with a population of 240 plus million, such as Nigeria, has both the House of Representatives and the Senate, numbering about 430 for 240 plus million people. We are 32 million and so why do we need more than 276 MPs? There is no demonstrated evidence that increasing the number of Parliamentary seats will necessarily make Parliament more effective.”

The proposed additional seats would, under the recommendation cited by the NPP, accommodate proportional representation, including women, young people and persons with disabilities.

However, the party maintains that expanding Parliament should not be pursued without clear evidence that doing so would deliver tangible improvements to the legislature’s performance and representation.

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