2020 Elections fraud trial paused again due to unavailability of defence lawyer

The trial into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections was on Tuesday unable to proceed due to the unavailability of one of the defence attorneys, who is currently out of the jurisdiction.

When the matter was called at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before presiding Magistrate Faith McGusty, it was made known that attorney Eusi Anderson, who represents one of the defendants, Sherfane February, could not be reached.

The trial, which resumed on February 16 after a more than two-month break, is presently engaged in a voir dire — a trial within a trial — involving February.

This marks the fourth voir dire in the proceedings so far.

After engaging the prosecutors, Magistrate McGusty informed the court that the witnesses present were prepared to testify specifically in relation to the ongoing voir dire.

Therefore, she said due to Anderson’s unavailability and unsuccessful efforts to contact him to proceed with his evidence-in-chief, the court could not move forward.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to Wednesday, February 25, for continuation.

The trial is advancing under structured case management guidelines.

So to prevent further delays, the magistrate proposed the weeks of March 16 and March 23, 2026, as well as the weeks commencing April 20 and April 27 for hearings in this case.

Nine individuals are currently before the court, charged with conspiring to manipulate the election results in favour of APNU+AFC in an attempt to deny victory to the PPP.

Those charged include former government minister Volda Lawrence, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, among others.

The controversy surrounding the March 2020 elections delayed the official results for five months, until PPP candidate Irfaan Ali was sworn in as President on 2 August 2020.