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The Wa Central constituency is the most populous of the 11 political units in the High West region. While other municipalities have one or two electoral districts under a Municipal and Metropolitan Assembly, the case in the Upper West is unique. All electoral districts are a single district or a municipality. While the debate and the convocation may have a lot of political comment, the reality has been that Central Wa has met all the criteria that qualify it to split in two. The Ghana Statistical Service reported that the population of Wa Central is 102,446. This exceeds the requirement of the population to create a constituency. In terms of population; A constituency is expected to have no fewer than 95,000 people. A constituency is qualified to divide.
It is in the spirit of these; Recovering constituency residents are calling for the landslide of Central Wa into Nouth and South. Data from Ghana Statistical Services (GSS, 2012) along with clearly defined benchmarks from the Wa Central are enough evidence that stakeholders do not wait too long before considering our demand. Waiting for the 2021 population and housing census will only add to what is already known.
The president, parliament and the Electoral Commission should consider this call as a worthy proposal that is bent in the interest of Central Wa and Ghana. It will contribute to improving citizen participation in governance; community participation and, to a large extent, development. Given that budget allocations and quality of representation could be achieved. There the Municipality will have Two Hon. MPs who would push harder than an individual who may simply be a rubber support It should be taken into account that the demand for the creation of constituencies will necessarily guarantee development, however, it has the potential to generate healthy competition and quality governance in a positive way, since several communities, the residents to which the constituency belongs, would have more commitment to your Hon. MP. It is not just because of the demand for a seat that electoral districts are created, the wisdom of the law is to accelerate quality participation and citizen participation is important.
It should be noted that, considering the voter population of the central Wa, the two electoral districts, if created, could remain the most populous in terms of voter population.
Another point worth considering as well, the population index, is the vast nature of the constituency. There are many rural and peri-urban communities that join the urban periphery to form electoral districts. Some communities often feel neglected because the distribution of the national pie within the set time frames could be disproportionate.
The call to the president, parliament and the Electoral Commission to give priority to this proposal is due to the fact that these bodies are required by law to create electoral districts when necessary. For example;
The Constitution gives the president the power to create districts, but the procedure and criteria for their creation are detailed in the 2004 Local Government Law (Law 462). No deadline has been specified for the creation of districts. Again, Article 42 of the Local Government Act 2004 stipulates that: (Ghana 2004a);
“(2) The President may, by executive instrument:
(a) declare any area within Ghana as a district.
(b) assign a name to the district.
(3) In the exercise of the powers attributed to him, the President: (a)
instruct the Electoral Commission to make recommendations such as
deemed appropriate for the purpose.
(4) The Electoral Commission shall, before making recommendations to
the president in subsection (3)
On the other hand, the Constitution stipulates the criteria for the creation of electoral districts and entrusts the Electoral Commission (Ghana 1992a): Commission (Ghana 1992a): “review the division of Ghana into electoral districts at intervals of not less than seven years, or within twelve months after the publication of the registration figures after the celebration of a Ghana population census, whichever occurs first; and can, as a result, alter electoral districts. “
Further, Article 4 (2) of the 1992 Constitution simply states that: “By law, Parliament can provide for the modification of the boundaries of the districts or the reconstitution of the districts”, without specifying the legal procedures to be Following. Later, Parliament enacted the Local Government Act, 2004 (Law 462) that details the procedure and criteria for the creation of districts and dress in the independent Electoral Commission. The districts in existence immediately prior to the entry into force of the 1992 Constitution on January 7, 1993, they were saved in the Local Government Law of 2004.
It will be convenient for everyone to join in the convocation of this noble appeal. Clearly, Wa Central’s administration is becoming too cumbersome and quality representation and citizen participation is a serious issue. Given the population of the constituency and the size of the land, along with other detailed criteria in creating the parliamentary constituency, Central Wa deserves to be divided into two districts.
Tahiru lukman
Youth development consultant, author and activist
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +233 (0) 209154057 / +233 (0) 551018778
