He said the compilation will be tabled in Parliament after it is presented to President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition, Mr Desmond Hoyte, who appointed the group.

In an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), Minister Collymore said they are continuing weekly meetings and in the process of reviewing six options presented them last month by Dr Benjamin Reilly, one of two experts provided by National Democratic Institute of United States.

Reilly, 35, from Australia, who holds Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and is experienced in electoral systems, made a presentation on April 4 at a special meeting organised to facilitate his brief visit to Guyana and the task force exchanged views with him.

GINA said Reilly provided the alternatives based on the trend of their deliberations and his wide-ranging experience and his submission is being studied for a determination on which might be appropriate in the Guyana situation.
The choices suggest that:

· independents and groups, as well as parties contesting local government elections could be treated as political parties for the purposes of the Act. Thus, should an individual gain enough votes to be entitled to more than one seat, he could name others to take upthe rest;

· with an open list for proportional representation, candidates’ names, inclusive of independents (or individuals) can appear on the ballot paper and voters will vote for a party or a candidate on the list, or both party and candidate;

· for a single non- transferrable vote, all candidates can be listed on the ballot paper and those with the highest vote totals declared elected. For a 12-seat council, those elected would be candidates who have the 12 highest votes. This system makes no distinction between candidates who are independents, from a group or representing parties;

· for a ward or constituency system, one candidate or several candidates can contest a single seat in the constituency or ward and a council with 12 seats would have 12 constituencies or wards. There is no proportionality in this system;

· in a mixed system, some councilors could be elected by proportional representation and others by the constituency or ward process. Where the proportional principle is concerned, seats are allocated in proportion to votes cast and, for the representational type, voters would have a specific councillor who can be held accountable and

· a system which specifically excludes any political party from contesting but this is not applicable because the Guyana Constitution stipulates that the elections must be contested by groups, individuals and parties.

Meanwhile, GINA said Professor Randall Crane, an expert on garnering of resources, has arrived to give assistance in his area of expertise.

He lectures at the School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, Los Angeles, in environmental and development planning and has done research on urban services in poor countries, governance reform and transport.

Crane has undertaken intensive work, as well, on inter-governmental finance and reform in Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand and Yemen.

Collymore said they met him twice last week and his proposals, too, are under review for inclusion in the compendium by the committee comprising members of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R).

Mr Vincent Alexander of PNC/R is the Co-Chair.
Since 1994, voting for members of Local Democratic Organs have been postponed for several reasons, among them violence after general elections in 1997 and 2001.

Collymore said the Committee, as charged, held 31 successful consultations with residents in communities throughout Guyana and was able to canvass their views.

He said some people in several villages requested the reinstatement of village councils which were dissolved by the previous Government in 1990.

In smaller places, villagers advocated the establishment of community councils, others preferred individuals contesting the local government polls but, presently, the Constitution does not permit the latter.

GINA said the new legislation will make provision for individuals to contest and both PPP/C and PNC/R have agreed that the balloting be held as early as possible.

Collymore said the Committee is also addressing how the various local government organs can widen their revenue base.

He said the task force provided Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally with a detailed account of all aspects of its work, including the field consultations and results, as well as requests from various communities.

Collymore said, given the possible constitutional amendments, GECOM was asked to do the best for ensuring smooth and transparent local government polling.

According to him, the committee has not made any decision to change the boundaries of Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) but the subventions allocated them will be altered, giving them greater autonomy and affording them individual bank accounts and authority to spend on projects within their communities.

Collymore emphasised the need for proper accounting and said provisions will be legislated for the Auditor General’s Office or Ministry of Local Government to supervise operations in NDCs.

He said Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) will no longer control the spending of NDCs.

Collymore pointed out that, over the years, some NDCs have returned sums of money granted them for various purposes, because seeking authorisation for spending has led to delays and other restrictions, resulting in projects not being completed.

But changes in the law will remove some of the constraints and allow for efficient spending, he assured.