Michelle Miller, an Elections Clerk employed by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has publicly denied accusations that she was involved in the alleged fraud which occurred following the March 2 Elections.
Miller has also accused the Guyana Police Force (GPF) of breaching several of her constitutional rights with impunity.
Through a statement from her lawyer Latoya Roberts, Miller explained that she has been accused of conspiring with Clairmont Mingo and others to commit electoral fraud by calling out numbers from a Spreadsheet instead of the Statement of Polls.
“I denied the said allegations, as I never called out numbers from any Spreadsheet during the said Election…My duties at all times during the Election period was to ensure that meals and materials were provided to the individuals working in the office. I denied being a Registration Officer as same was not my duty, and I also denied taking any instructions from Clairmont Mingo or anyone else at Ashmin’s Building during the time period in question to assist with the commission of any act that would constitute electoral fraud,” the statement explained.
Miller took pains to detail in her statement a series of seemingly inconsiderate actions by several officers including Assistant Superintendent Mitchell Caesar.
She explained that since her arrest on August 26 she has been questioned four times on this matter with the October 16 interview being audio and video recorded. She has not been charged.
Additionally, since September 14 Miller has reported to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Eve Leary, Monday to Friday, as per the instructions given to her on that date.
On Friday October 16 after presenting herself as per normal at 2:20 pm she was informed that she would be interviewed. The interview did not occur until 4:06 pm and lasted for 45 minutes.
At 5:38 pm, Miller was asked to return on Saturday at 7:30 am but objected as she is a Seventh Day Adventist who upholds the Sabbath. Attempts to have the interview re-scheduled to Sunday were rejected by Caesar who said he had to go to Church on Sunday.
Despite being asked to be present in the early morning, Miller was made to wait three hours before being questioned again.
During this fourth interview she chose to exercise her right to silence and protested the behaviour of the officers.
“I had already spoken to police officers in relation to the said matter on three separate occasions, and though I had always cooperated with the police the same courtesy was not being extended to me,” Miller notes in her statement adding that she had already told the police everything she knew.
“Since I had no involvement in the allegations being made to me, I would reserve my right to remain silent throughout the interview,” she concluded.
Miller who suffers from hypertension and had to be hospitalized when detained by the Police in August also highlighted that fact that she had repeatedly informed the officers that she was feeling unwell and that her blood pressure was high.
At one point on Friday, after indicating that she had not eaten Miller was told that she could access food from the Police Canteen but declined as her chronic illness limits her diet.
