A new report has called for major reforms in the Commonwealth to ensure member countries were responsive and accountable to democratic governance.

The report released on Monday says the Commonwealth should review the way it was promoting democracy among member countries.

The association that brings together all the former colonies of Britain should make democracy a central theme in its activities as opposed to just being one of its many objectives.

The report was released in London ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government biennial meeting scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago this week. Last year's Commonwealth meeting was held in Kampala.

The report titled "Democracy in the Commonwealth" was the outcome of a research published by the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit and Electoral Reform International Services.

The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit is part of the School of Advance Study in the University of London. It is the Commonwealth's 'think-tank' on governance and democracy, economic development and legal reform, civil society and youth, and water and environment.

Electoral Reform International Services is a UK-based not-for-profit democracy assistance organization boasting some 800 democracy experts in over 70 countries and its parent body is the Electoral Reform Society.

The authors were the Chairman of the Ghana Electoral Commission and Executive Secretary of the Association of African Election Authorities, Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, Asma Jahangir, and British democracy expert Tim Sheehy.

They noted that the key obstacle to deepening democracy in the Commonwealth is the failure in many countries to encourage or even countenance open political competition and the abuse of incumbency by ruling parties.

The team called for a new and comprehensive Commonwealth statement of democratic principles and practice besides setting out twelve other recommendations for reform in the way the association promoted democracy.

The Commonwealth meeting in Port of Spain, from November 27 to 29, marks 18 years since the adoption of the Harare Commonwealth Declaration, the document which embodies the association's commitment to democracy.

Some of the recommendations for reform include a radical review of the relationship with civil society and a more effective dialogue and engagement with them. The commonwealth has in the past been accused of behaving like an exclusive club of the rulers.

The report also suggested that member governments provide a standing invitation to the Commonwealth Secretariat so that it can observe electoral processes and work with state and civil society bodies without formal invitations each time.

Commonwealth observers should also focus on the quality of democracy and not simply technical electoral issues in respective missions.

It should also carry out a 'health check' on the state of democracy in every Commonwealth country every two years and robust follow-up to election observation.

Another recommendation is that the body should bringing all 'serious or persistent' violations of democratic governance to the Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) that should work closely with the Secretary-General's offices and with civil society.

It should also ensure that democracy technical assistance is harmonised with the Secretariat's overall political dialogue with the country concerned.

It was advised that continuing election observation shift the focus of the Political Affairs Division's Democracy Section from the organisation of observer missions to other work to strengthen democracy - including following up the recommendations of observer missions, and ensuring that the Division has adequate resources to promote democracy effectively.