Dear Editor,
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall is calling for a “firm direction” on the way forward, concerning the ‘election fraud’ trial, as the date for the continuation of the matter approaches, but yet seems evanescent. Currently, as it stands, nine people, including former Government Ministers and Opposition members, along with former employees of the Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM), are before the court for electoral fraud. The charges emanated from the 2020 General and Regional Elections, which lasted for five months due to efforts to derail the results of the elections.
This trial commenced before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly on July 29, and was set to run from then to September 13. However, the magistrate, in typical malingering mode, proceeded on a prolonged period of sick leave, resulting in the case being pushed to October 31. However, this date is the public holiday of Deepavali, and this means that the court again will have to reschedule the sitting/hearing. This procrastination is wilfully evil. I can feel for AG Nandlall, who is assiduously trying to expedite this matter. I am getting agitated and frustrated. Imagine how he is feeling. I join him in “declaring that there should be no more excuses at that hearing (next), but (that) there should be a definitive way forward.
Editor, I echo and reverberate the sentiments of Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in voicing that “We simply can’t continue in this manner…it is hoped that the prosecutors and the defence will be informed definitively on the direction that the cases will go. If it is that the magistrate is unable to do the cases for health or other reasons, we ought not to hear that on the (next court date) without hearing more. “We need to hear if that is the position, and a firm direction (should be) settled in terms of how the cases will proceed, with time being of the essence, so the early determination of the cases can be anticipated.”
As was quite well stated by AG Nandlall, “… the judiciary needs to be held accountable over its handling of this matter. The public deserves no less. The judiciary is a public institution that must be held accountable for the conduct of its business.” Let me recap that the charges are serious: misconduct while holding public office; presenting falsified documentation; and planning to manipulate Guyana’s voters by presenting an inaccurate vote total. These charges stem from attempts to rig the 2020 General and Regional Elections in favour of the APNU/AFC, which had then been ruling the country. No wonder Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo added his concern stating that “… there is widespread public frustration over the delays in the trial,” and he made it clear that the judiciary must address those delays.
Sincerely,
Hargesh B. Singh
