Accusations of political bias took centre stage at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday, as defence attorney Eusi Anderson pressed Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) leader Lennox Shuman to admit that he acted as a proxy for the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) during the disputed March 2020 elections.
Shuman firmly rejected the charge, calling it “utterly and absolutely incorrect.”
“Your participation as a candidate in the elections was in effect as a proxy for the PPP/C,” Anderson suggested.
“That suggestion would be incorrect,” Shuman responded.
The heated exchanges marked a sharp turn in the ongoing election fraud trial, where Shuman has been called to testify about his intervention at the Ashmin’s Building—the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) Command Centre for Region Four—during the tabulation of votes in 2020.
Anderson sought to discredit Shuman’s testimony by tying his actions and later political appointments to alleged PPP/C rewards.
“Your appointment 20 days after August 2, 2020 as a presidential advisor together with your election as a deputy Speaker of the National Assembly was the commencement of your rewards for supporting the PPP/C during the five-month impasse,” Anderson said.
“Incorrect,” Shuman replied, denying that his rise in public office was part of any arrangement.
The defence attorney pressed further: “I have to suggest to you that you were a biased Speaker completely opposed to the then opposition A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC).”
“Incorrect,” Shuman repeated.
Anderson also alleged that Shuman’s testimony was shaped by “self-interest and benefit as a beneficiary of the PPP/C.” Again, the LJP leader pushed back: “Incorrect.”
Shuman did, however, concede two points under questioning. He admitted that since August 2020 he had never supported APNU+AFC in the way he has supported the PPP/C, and that he had never been employed or received benefits from the coalition.
“That is correct,” the witness said to both suggestions.
When Anderson concluded by charging that “everything in your statement and your testimony are complete lies,” Shuman responded without hesitation: “Absolutely incorrect.”
The cross-examination followed testimony Shuman gave on Monday, when he described stepping in during Region Four’s disputed vote count after observing what he called an “attempted fraud” by GECOM’s IT officer Enrique Livan.
His testimony forms part of the broader case against nine defendants charged with electoral fraud.
Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, former Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Health Minister Volda Lawrence, People’s National Congress Reform member Carol Smith-Joseph, and former GECOM staffers Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.
They collectively face 19 charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud to misconduct in public office. Each has pleaded not guilty and is on bail.
The prosecution, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, argues that the defendants attempted to inflate votes for APNU+AFC while reducing those for the PPP/C.
After five months of legal battles, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-supervised recount confirmed the PPP/C’s victory with 233,336 votes to APNU+AFC’s 217,920, leading to Dr. Irfaan Ali’s swearing-in as president on August 2, 2020.
The trial continues today before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty.
