‘It was a matter of urgency’ – Min. Parag defends PPP/C’s legal moves amid 2020 election chaos
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Sonia Parag told the court on Thursday that filing an election petition is the proper constitutional channel to challenge election results.
However, she said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) sought urgent court injunctions during the March 2020 elections due to “a matter of urgency.”
Parag, testifying in the ongoing election fraud trial at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, said the party acted swiftly as concerns mounted over the integrity of the Region Four vote tabulation.
“You were aware at the time that the process for challenging electoral results was by way of an [election] petition?” defence attorney Nigel Hughes asked.
“Yes, yes,” Parag, an attorney-at-law, replied.
“Aggrieved parties had a specified process to follow if they wanted to challenge the results of an election?” Hughes continued.
“Yes. But I cannot tell you in detail what that is,” Parag responded.
Pressed further, Hughes noted that instead of filing an election petition, the PPP/C moved directly to the court and secured an injunction from Justice Navindra Singh on March 5, 2020.
That order barred the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from declaring final results for Region Four until proper procedures were followed.
Parag confirmed the action and explained, “It was a matter of urgency.” When Hughes suggested that the PPP/C had not followed the proper process, she replied flatly: “I don’t agree with that.”
The trial involved nine defendants, including former GECOM officials and a member of the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government, who were charged with conspiracy to defraud in connection with the 2020 elections.
Among the accused are Keith Lowenfield, the former Chief Elections Officer (CEO); Roxanne Myers, former Deputy CEO; and Clairmont Mingo, the former Region Four Returning Officer.
Also charged are Carol Smith-Joseph, a member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), and Volda Lawrence, who served as Minister of Health under the former APNU+AFC government.
The remaining defendants are GECOM employees Michelle Miller, Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, and Denise Babb-Cummings.
Collectively, they face 19 charges related to conspiracy to defraud and other alleged misconduct surrounding the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.
All have pleaded not guilty and are out on bail.
As the trial progresses, the prosecution led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhan has indicated plans to call over 70 witnesses, including GECOM Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh.
The prosecution asserts that the nine defendants deliberately altered Region Four’s results to show APNU+AFC victory.
The March 2, 2020 elections sparked a prolonged political standoff, eventually resolved through a national recount led by GECOM and a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team.
The recount confirmed a PPP/C victory, with 233,336 votes to the APNU+AFC’s 217,920.
The initial results, declared by former GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield, had inaccurately claimed a win for the incumbent coalition.
Following the recount, Lowenfield, Mingo, and Myers were dismissed by GECOM in August 2021 and later criminally charged along with other election staff.
