The Boundaries Commission is asking for public submissions on how many seats a future House of Assembly should have, and on how the boundaries should be drawn in future.

The Commission is refusing to accept submissions which vary from the "not more than 40, not less than 20 single seat constituency formula". That's too bad, because Bermuda runs the risk of replacing one system that does not have the public's confidence with another that may have even less.

The Commission's position may yet be challenged in court. In the meantime, some form of submission should still be made, in order to ensure that the Commission has as much public input as possible.

A system of single seat constituencies in which MPs are elected under the first past the post method may seem fairer than the existing system, but it has two flaws. One is the tendency to unduly reward the victor to the point that 51 percent of the vote can garner the winner 60 or even 70 percent of the seats.

The second weakness of the Westminster system lies in the way power is concentrated in the hands of the executive, or Cabinet. It is very easy for a relatively small number of people within the Cabinet to dominate the entire workings of the legislature.

This can make for strong government, which is sometimes desirable. But it can also lead to out-of-touch and dictatorial government which is always undesirable. A governing group that does not feel accountable to its backbenchers, the Opposition or the public is a bad government.

Clearly, the smaller the number of legislators, the greater risk of exaggerated majorities and concentration of power. With 21 seats, a party can have a majority with 11, meaning six people (or fewer if the size of the Cabinet is reduced) can run the country.

Fewer legislators will also raise the demand for full-time politicians and could lead to calls for a smaller Cabinet, again resulting in a lot of power being concentrated in too few hands. Caribbean countries have had plenty of experience of this, very little of it good, and are now looking at changing the system Bermuda, typically, plans to adopt.

If constituencies are too large, MPs do not have the time or the desire to maintain contact with their constituents and thus get out of touch with the every day concerns of the people they are supposed to represent.

For those reasons, the Boundaries Commission should look at 900 voters as an ideal constituency size. That would result in 39 seats (which means there is no risk of a tied vote between two parties in a General Election) which is enough to make sure that no one party or group becomes too power mad.

The Commission should also consider using parish boundaries as a guide, but should not feel tied to them. Bermudians have historic and psychological connections to their parishes that should not be cut. But constituency boundaries should be contiguous, so an anomaly like Tucker's Town should be included in Hamilton Parish, not St. George's, which is its actual parish.

By maintaining a high number of seats - and the number of seats should be increased or decreased as the voter population rises and falls - Bermuda can at least have some confidence that the system, while far from perfect, will be reasonably fair.