‎The Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Professor Henry Kwesi Prempeh, has backed a statutory mechanism to ensure that unfinished constitutional reforms are carried forward even when there is a change in government.

‎He says constitutional reform should not end with the administration that begins the process, stressing the need for a mechanism that promotes transparency and ensures continuity.

‎Speaking at a stakeholder dialogue on the Constitutional Reform Implementation Process organised by the Citizens' platform on constitutional Reforms with support from the British High Commission, Professor Prempeh cautioned that an ordinary law alone may not be enough to bind future parliaments or presidents.

‎"An ordinary law cannot bind the future parliament or compel a future president. But what we can do is bind through transparency and structural independence, establishing a standard, adequately funded mechanism that maintains the public register of the recommendations that are implemented, reports annually on implementation and requires the executive to respond."

‎Professor Prempeh said broad consensus among political actors and other stakeholders will also be critical to the success of the reform process.

‎He cited the abandoned proposal to amend Article 55 of the Constitution to allow political parties to sponsor candidates in local government elections as a lesson on the importance of cross-party agreement.

‎"Without the major political parties and actors agreeing to carry a reform together, even a proposal that many might consider worthwhile will fail to reach the finish line."

‎He stressed that consensus should not be mistaken for unanimity or a veto for any particular group.

‎"Consensus is not unanimity and it is not a veto. It does not mean waiting for 30 million citizens to agree on every detail. For if we wait for unanimity, we will never reform anything."

‎Professor Prempeh also cautioned against treating the next stage of the constitutional reform process as merely a technical exercise of drafting bills.

"Drafting is the final stage in reform. It comes after questions of principle are settled in good faith, not as a substitute for settling them."

‎He, therefore, urged government to keep the implementation process open to further stakeholder input, publish draft bills before they are finalised and provide the public with a genuine opportunity to respond.

‎"Where you accept the recommendations, state why. When you reject one, provide a reasoned explanation. Reasoned rejection is a form of civic respect and it costs very little."