Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has underscored the critical need for presidential candidates to disclose their prospective nominees for key cabinet positions ahead of general elections.
This, he argued, would provide voters with a clearer understanding of the candidates’ governance plans and the competence of their potential appointees.
“I am back on this matter. Considering that vice presidents don’t really possess any real power, or so we have come to believe, and that certain ministerial positions presumably come with more power than the position of vice president, why do we go into elections as voters knowing whom a presidential candidate’s nominee for vice president is but knowing nothing about who that candidate’s preferences are for, say, Minister for Finance, Minister for Education, Minister for Energy, the Minister for Lands, Forestry, and Mineral Resources, or the Chief of Staff at the Presidency?”
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development
The Influence of the American Model
The Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development particularly criticized Ghana’s blind imitation of the American model, where the vice-presidential candidate is named alongside the presidential candidate.
He pointed out that nothing prevents Ghana from requiring or encouraging presidential candidates to disclose their “shadow cabinet” before elections.
This practice, he noted, is prevalent in the Westminster parliamentary system in Britain, where opposition parties designate MPs as shadow ministers, giving voters a clearer picture of the potential future cabinet.
“In the Westminster parliamentary system, where the Opposition sometimes gets to designate certain MPs as shadow ministers for specific positions, voters go to the ballot with some rough idea of who they might get in the Cabinet beyond the Prime Minister. This is also what makes Prime Ministers in Westminster systems able to name their Cabinets and get rolling almost immediately after being elected”.
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development
Enhancing Voter Information and Accountability
Furthermore, Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh argued that knowing the likely composition of the cabinet would be immensely valuable to voters.
According to him, such a move would not only help assess the suitability and competence of a presidential candidate’s most influential appointees but also reveal their commitment to gender and ethnoregional diversity.
“Why is it more important to know, for example, who our First Spouse or First Family might be than what our likely first Cabinet would look like? Apart from helping us to evaluate the suitability and competence of a presidential candidate’s most influential appointees, such pre-election disclosures would tell us a lot, too, about each candidate’s commitment to gender and ethnoregional diversity, among others”.
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development
Additionally, the renowned legal scholar underscored the urgent need for presidential candidates of political parties to tell the voters in advance the roles envisioned for their family members in government, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Voluntary Disclosure and Political Costs
In a rallying call to action, Professor Prempeh clarified that such a practice does not need to be mandated by law, adding that a presidential candidate can voluntarily decide to raise the bar by disclosing their proposed cabinet members.
He pointed out that while there is a risk of reneging on such promises post-election, the political cost of breaking such commitments would deter candidates from doing so.
The Executive Director for the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development concluded by challenging presidential candidates to innovate and enhance transparency in Ghanaian politics.
He urged presidential candidates for the various political parties in the country contesting for the December polls to be the first to introduce this important and exciting innovation, raising the standards for political campaigns and governance in the country.
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