Police Inspector Junior Blair of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters testified on Wednesday, offering a detailed account of how he processed and safeguarded video evidence central to the ongoing election fraud trial.
Inspector Blair, who worked in the video forensic analysis unit during the 2020 elections, told the court that he was tasked with examining a series of recordings submitted by PPP/C counting agent Bebi Mohammed.
According to his testimony, Mohammed provided 16 videos captured on her Samsung mobile phone, all of which were handed over to him for forensic extraction and analysis.
Blair recounted that on August 24, 2020, he removed the recordings from the device using established forensic protocols designed to preserve the authenticity of digital evidence.
Each file was then catalogued and indexed before he conducted a comparative analysis to ensure that the recordings were intact and unaltered.
Once the extraction and verification process was completed, the phone was returned to Mohammed.
The inspector further explained that he transferred the verified recordings onto a disc and prepared additional copies for official use.
The disc containing the full set of videos was later submitted to the court and formally admitted into evidence.
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.
