The Solomon Islands Parliament has passed a Constitutional Amendment Bill which will increased the minimum and maximum numbers of constituencies for elections of Members of Parliament.
Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua said when winding up debate on the amendment bill yesterday that the proposed minimum is 50 and the proposed maximum is 70.
But he said increasing the maximum number of constituencies to 70 does not mean there will be 70 parliamentary seats to contest in the 2010 National General Elections.
Dr Sikua said the bill amended Section 54 (1) of the Constitution which set the minimum at 30 and the maximum at 50 constituencies which have been utilized - meaning the ceiling has been reached.
He said the amendment was necessary as the country's demography has changed drastically and to cater for the increase in the country's overall population.
