Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 51 are to be elected on their own merit. 71 According to the leader of Ghana's delegation to the Community Parliament, Mr. Stephen Kwaku Balado Manu, the Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano-South and Majority Chief Whip, polls shall be conducted similar to national general elections, and those who emerge victorious become bona fide members of the Community Parliament. 72 ECOWAS nationals interested in contesting for representation in the parliament must satisfy certain conditions, including proof of citizenship and evidence of payment of taxes and levies. On the question of the delineation of electoral constituencies and the requisite number of seats, Mr. Manu explained that constituencies would be allocated according to the current number of seats occupied by member states in the Community Parliament. Ghana would, for instance, maintain the minimum of five seats allocated to each member, and a further three seats added, based on the country's population(Nigeria, for instance, is allocated a further 30 seats, using her population size). A former leader of the Ghanaian delegation to the ECOWAS Community Parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, current Member of Parliament for Suame and Minority Leader, however, called for a review of the criteria for the allocation of seats which he considers as inherently flawed and inadequate. 73 Other areas proposed for the restructuring include the Political Wing of Parliament which consists of the Plenary, Bureau and the Conference of Bureaux. According to the proposals, the Plenary is to constitute the highest decision-making body and its decisions are binding on all the structures of the parliament. The Plenary adopts the resolutions of parliament and forwards them to the decision-making bodies of the Community, in accordance with the provisions of the protocols, treaties, decisions and regulations of the Community. An additional body is the Bureau of Parliament which is to act as the governing body of the Parliament. It is autonomous but its actions and functions should not be at variance with other decision-making bodies of the Community such as the Authority of Heads of State and Governments and the Council of Ministers. Its membership will be smaller, possibly five instead of the current membership of sixteen, and will be comprised of the Speaker and the first four Deputy Speakers. In terms of functions, it will provide the necessary financial, administrative and technical services to parliament. It will help reduce the workload of the Bureau and render the retention of the parliamentary secretaries and treasuries unnecessary. 71 Mr. Stephen K. B. Manu, Member of Ghana's Parliament for Ahafo Ano South and Majority Chief Whip as well as the Leader of Ghanaian Representatives to the Community Parliament, made this known to the Ghanaian Media in a briefing session in Kumasi. See Story in The Spectator, Saturday, September 2008; and the Ghanaian Times, Tuesday, September 16 th , 2008, p. 21. 72 Ibid., p. 21. 73 Ibid., p. 21.