Elections 2004 (Results) - Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Ghana Office

The 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
Prior to 2004, the last time any serious look was taken at electoral boundaries was in 1992, when the number of constituencies
was increased from 140 to 200. In 2003, the government responded to calls for the creation of new
administrative districts and, as required by law, called on the Electoral Commission to advise it on the demarcation
of the proposed districts. This activity increased the number of districts from 110 to 138.
Since the boundaries of constituencies, by law, cannot go beyond the boundaries of a district, this meant an automatic
increase in the number of constituencies. In response to this, but also as required by the release of population
figures of a census done in 2000, the Commission undertook a demarcation exercise in 2003, which brought
the number of constituencies up from 200 to 230.
This exercise involved a lot of planning and consultations. Discussions were held with the government, parliament,
traditional authorities, local opinionleaders, district assemblies, political parties and other stakeholders. To give the
newly created constituencies the necessary legal backing a Constitutional Instrument (C.I. 46) was made.
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