Senior GECOM functionary retains lawyer for Mingo’s assistants

A very senior functionary of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has retained Attorney Eusi Anderson to represent the three assistants of the embattled Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.

The News Room has confirmed that the senior GECOM official reached out to Anderson on Tuesday night after Mingo and the others were arrested in connection with committing electoral fraud at the March 2 general and regional elections.

Police sources close to the investigation confirmed that the GECOM functionary has instructed the three assistants not to cooperate with the Police investigation.

The Police Force in a statement Tuesday night named Mingo and his Registration Officer 42-year-old Mikhaila Duncan as the two suspects in the investigation but on Wednesday two more employees of GECOM who worked with Mingo on Elections Day were also arrested.

Mingo was arrested at his Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home on Tuesday in relation to the fraudulent elections declaration of March 5 which has his signature.

The Chief Justice Roxane George Wiltshire had thrown out the declaration, saying the tabulation was not done in accordance with the law.

Mingo emerged as a controversial figure in the five-month-long elections process.

A national vote recount found that the numbers were inflated in favour of the APNU+AFC Coalition while the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) emerged as the true winner.

Mingo remains in the employ of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) but the News Room understands that he has not shown up at the office for months.