New Democrat (Monrovia)
Festus Poquie
2 July 2009
The motion to set representative constituencies at 40,000 per Representative was defeated in the Senate Wednesday as the body prepares to handle the issue today.
Another motion, setting constituencies at 48,000, lingers. Some Senators, on condition of anonymity, said the 48,000 are the preference of the Executive Mansion provided no County loses a seat. Others argue that representation should be based purely on census population figures and not political appeasement.
Known as the Threshold Bill, the House has already voted on it, setting representation at 40,000. There are predictions of a political impasse if the bill, now lingering in the Legislature for months, fails to pass, because it is the basis of the scheduled 2011 elections.
Several diplomats here, aware of the consequences, have pleaded with the Legislature to swiftly pass the bill for continued stability and democratization.
Opponents of the bill, primarily from less populated Counties, fear that it would deprive them of seats if passed, while there are indications within the Executive of the financial costs of having more legislators in a Legislature that is rapidly increasing its benefits as opposed to the dire needs of the country.
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