Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday granted the prosecution more time to prepare evidence for the trial of the seven persons accused of conspiring to rig the March 2nd, 2020 elections.
The accused are former District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence, APNU+AFC member Carol Joseph-Smith, Information Technology Officer Enrique Livan and Registration Clerks Shefern February, Michelle Miller and Denise Babb-Cummings.
When the matter was called virtually before the Chief Magistrate yesterday, she advised that the evidence to be provided to the court be sorted in a way desirable to the court.
The special prosecutor, attorney Darshan Ramdhani, explained that while three bundles of Statements of Polls (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) are completed as well video evidence, he had requested time to have the additional six bundles of SOPs and SORs ready.
Ramdhani said that during the processing of the statements it was observed that several pages were not properly copied, which led to a thorough check of the documents. As a result, he said, six bundles are outstanding.
Magistrate McLennan asked that the documents be sorted, clearly labeled, and indexed. She further suggested that the prosecution use the additional time to complete a review of the other statements. As a result, the proceedings were adjourned until October 11th, 2021 for full disclosure, after which the court will proceed.
The dispute over the District Four vote count led to a painstaking 35-day recount scrutinised by CARICOM, and various observer groups. The recount determined that the PPP/C had won the elections.
