Magistrate to rule December 30 on restart of election fraud trial

Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty will deliver a decision on December 30 regarding whether the 2020 election fraud trial will commence afresh.

This conclusion was reached on Monday when the case was called at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for oral submissions on what exactly is mean to restart the trial anew.

The case has already faced several delays, even after evidence was presented and with the presiding magistrate, Leron Daly, proceeding on sick leave. Acting Chief Magistrate McGusty has since taken over the case.

This transfer is what necessitated the restart of the trial but the two sides are at odds on what exactly this restart constitutes.

During Monday’s brief hearing, defence attorney Nigel Hughes and Special Prosecutor Dharshan Ramdhani made their submissions.

Ramdhani argued that the case pertains to the de novo principle, under which a court is tasked with reconsidering the case in its entirety, without regard to prior rulings or findings.

In urging the court to give due consideration to its decision, Ramdhani stated that it would be appropriate to proceed with a summary trial.

He added that, if the trial were to restart, the court should first hear from the prosecution before moving on to take evidence.

However, he emphasised that the prosecution does not favour restarting from the point of reading the charges to the defendants.

Meanwhile, Hughes argued that the trial should begin anew, but he also noted that, in doing so, the magistrate is not bound by any previous rulings made by other courts that have heard the case.

After hearing both sides, the magistrate set December 30th for a ruling.

The trial involves nine defendants, including former government minister Volda Lawrence and former GECOM Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield.

The accused face charges related to conspiring to defraud voters by manipulating the election results during the disputed 2020 General and Regional elections.