Prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani yesterday handed over several boxes containing certified copies of Statements of Poll (SOPs) and Statements of Recount (SORs) from the March 2nd 2020 general and regional elections to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Copies of the SOPs and SORs were also due to be handed over to seven persons accused of conspiring to change the results of the 2020 elections. Ramdhani said the evidence consists of four boxes for each of the seven defendants and for the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. He explained that the boxes contain an index of all of the Statements of Poll, as well as 10 discs for each of the defendants. Additionally, the court heard that the documents were scanned and would be emailed to the defendants.
The prosecutor also shared his concern with the court concerning the security of the SOPs and he mentioned that the documents need to be secured. The Chief Magistrate assured that the Clerk of Court would be in charge of having the documents delivered to the attorneys and defendants before the end of the day. She added that the documents needed to be lodged with the court before they could be uplifted by the defendants.
Those facing charges are: Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence; former Region Four, Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo; and APNU+AFC member, Carol Smith-Joseph, who are being represented by attorney Nigel Hughes, as well as Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Registration Clerks Shefern February, Michelle Miller and Denise Babb–Cummings and Information Technology Officer Enrique Livan, who allegedly conspired with them.
The seven persons are accused of conspiring to inflate the results of Region Four– Guyana’s largest voting district– to give the APNU+AFC Coalition a majority win at the polls. The dispute over the District Four vote count led to a 35-day recount scrutinised by CARICOM, and various observer groups. The recount determined that the PPP/C had won the elections. Following several legal challenges, the declaration of the results was made five months after March 2.
The case was adjourned until December 17, at 10 am. This will allow for the defence to read the documents and prepare for the trial, which will be decided either on or following the new court date.
