The electoral fraud trial arising from the disputed March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections resumed on Thursday before Chief Magistrate (ag) Faith McGusty, with proceedings once again centred on evidential objections and procedural arguments.
The day began with a voir dire—a legal exercise used to determine whether disputed evidence can be admitted at trial.
Often described as a “trial within a trial,” a voir dire allows both sides to present arguments and supporting material before the court rules on admissibility.
This particular voir dire focused on evidence submitted by Bebi Mohammed, who served as a PPP/C counting agent during the 2020 polls.
Mohammed tendered several documents to support her testimony, but defence attorney Nigel Hughes raised multiple objections.
He challenged their relevance, questioned how they were compiled, and argued that Mohammed may not have been suitably qualified to produce the documents in the first place.
These objections prompted the need for the voir dire, which occupied much of Thursday’s proceedings.
Although the details of the evidence reviewed cannot be disclosed, the Chief Magistrate instructed both prosecution and defence to file written submissions before she delivers her ruling on whether the documents will be admitted.
Meanwhile, defence attorneys signalled that an additional voir dire will be necessary—this time regarding statements allegedly connected to Enrique Livan, a former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) staffer and one of the defendants.
That exercise is expected to address the admissibility of materials said to be linked to Livan and is anticipated to unfold as the trial continues today at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The trial continues today before Chief Magistrate (ag) Faith Mc Gusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Among those charged are former GECOM officials Keith Lowenfield, who served as Chief Elections Officer (CEO); Roxanne Myers, the former Deputy CEO; and former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
They are joined by former Health Minister under the previous APNU+AFC administration, Volda Lawrence, and PNCR executive member Carol Smith-Joseph.
In addition, former GECOM staff members Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller are also listed among the accused.
Together, they face 19 charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud to misconduct in public office.
They have all entered not-guilty pleas and were each released on substantial cash bail.
The prosecution, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhanie, argued that each defendant played a “critical role” in the deliberate effort to inflate votes for the APNU+AFC and reduce votes for the PPP/C.
In the weeks that followed the contentious March 2, 2020, vote, Guyana’s judiciary was inundated with multiple applications and appeals filed by various political actors over the electoral process.
The saga lasted five months before a national recount, led by GECOM and a delegation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), confirmed the PPP/C’s victory and ultimately led to the swearing-in of President Dr. Irfaan Ali on August 2, 2020.
The recount confirmed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC coalition’s 217,920.
The initial elections results, announced by former CEO Lowenfield, claimed an APNU+AFC victory.
The APNU+AFC coalition received 171,825 votes, while the PPP/C received 166,343 votes, according to Lowenfield’s election report.
Following the PPP/C’s return to office in August 2020, criminal charges were filed against the defendants.
GECOM made the decision to terminate the contracts of Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo in August 2021, after the allegations of fraud came to light.
