After many delays, the trial into electoral fraud in the 2020 election will commence next week. On Tuesday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall reminded that the start date is Monday, July 29, 2024.
Nandlall confirmed that the trial would be held at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and would continue daily until September 13, 2024. This means there will be six weeks of continuous hearings, putting to rest criticisms against the magistracy and defence attorneys of unnecessary delays.
The trial faced several delays over the last three years but finally the court will hear from former senior functionaries of the country’s elections body. Though many of them had refused to testify before a Commission of Inquiry they will now be called on to offer oral statements and be crossed examined before City Magistrate Leron Daly.
The trial faced numerous delays but was cleared to begin following a ruling by Chief Justice Roxane George. She ruled that the constitutional rights of former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield and his Deputy Roxanne Myers to a fair trial would not be violated by the Representation of the People Act, which prohibits disclosure of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) meetings.
With this ruling, Magistrate Daly will now have to determine the 28 criminal charges related to the 2020 elections.
Notable witnesses expected to testify next week include Minister of Local Government Sonia Parag, Head of the Diaspora Unit Rosalinda Rasul, former Region Four Police Commander Edgar Thomas, and Forensic Investigator Rawle Nedd.
The prosecution has already handed over certified copies of Statements of Poll (SoPs) and Statements of Recount (SoRs), video interviews, and several other documents.
The trial will see attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes representing former District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, and former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield. Other GECOM staff facing charges include Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller, all accused of allegedly defrauding Guyanese voters by declaring false vote counts.
Additionally, two politicians, former People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) Chairperson Volda Lawrence and PNC/R activist Carol Smith-Joseph, are also charged.
The defendants are accused of inflating or facilitating the inflation of results for Region Four, the country’s largest voting district, to falsely give the APNU+AFC coalition a majority win.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was ultimately declared winner of the elections, leading to the swearing-in of Dr Irfaan Ali as President of Guyana.
I’ll bet #1.00 this will be postponed again…