PARLIAMENTARY MEMBERSHIP BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.17 p.m.

The Minister for Law and the Environment (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Honourable Members will recall that at the last sitting of this House on 23rd July, 1976 a White Paper on the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Delineation Committee was presented to Parliament as Command 10 of 1976, and that I made a statement in this House on the acceptance by the Government of the Committee's recommendations.

The Committee recommended the creation of ten new constituencies and the abolition of six existing ones, resulting in a net increase of four and bringing the total number of constituencies to 69.

Sir, section 22 of the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 50) provides that each constituency should return one Member to serve in Parliament. Article 23(1) of the Constitution enables the Legislature to provide by law for the number of Members to be elected to serve in Parliament in lieu of the number of 51 prescribed in that Article. The Legislature increased the number of Members of Parliament to 58 in 1 967 and to 65 in 1971. This Bill seeks to increase the number of Members of Parliament to be elected at the next general elections to 69.

Once this Bill has the assent of the President, we will be ready for the next general elections.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill-[Mr E. W. Barker]

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.