The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will benefit from the services of two consultants whose services are being made available through the International Foundation for Elections Systems (IFES) to assist in the preparations for the upcoming local government elections.

They are Michael Yard and Victor Butler, who are based in the United Kingdom and the USA, would be arriving here on Monday, a release from GECOM said. The experts assignment to GECOM is as a result of discussions between GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally and Rebecca Reichart, a former IFES programme officer with responsibility for Guyana who visited here last year.

The release quoted Surujbally as saying that the expertise of the two consultants "will undoubtedly give impetus to GECOM's preparations for upcoming local government elections."

The release said too that their attachment to the commission would be supervised by IFES Programme Officer responsible for Guyana, Pablo Galarco, who is accompanying them to Guyana, and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Country Director, Michael Murphy.

According to the release, Yard "will focus primarily on designing election technology needs and solutions" and "one of his main tasks will be to develop a comprehensive Information Systems Methodology Manual (ISMM) for the Information Systems Department of GECOM."

Yard, the release said has had "seven years experience as a consultant on International Election Administration, specializing in Appropriate Information Technology Application in accordance with needs assessment."

GECOM is in the process of recruiting an Information Technology Adviser who will work along with Yard.

Butler, according to the release, will be attached to the commission as a consultant on institutional strengthening, a field in which he has over 30 years experience working with the electoral bodies of 19 countries.

It said that his duties would include conducting an assessment (review and analysis) of the commission's administrative and financial structure; providing expert advice and recommendations on how to modernise GECOM in view of the forthcoming elections; providing advice to GECOM's Secretariat on its organisational structure with a view to ensuring that all core staff positions are filled and operational; and providing guidance on the budgetary implications of the permanence of GECOM.