–as elections fraud trial resumes
The 2020 national recount showed an approximately 19,000-vote decrease in the tally for A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) in Region Four, while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) recorded an increase of about 11,000 votes, Special Prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat said Monday following the resumption of the elections fraud trial.
Rahamat was recounting the evidence given by former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) IT Manager Aneal Giddings, who she said compared the declarations for District Four posted on March 7 and March 14, 2020, with the corresponding statements of recount.
Rahamat said Giddings, who now serves as the country’s Data Protection Commissioner, told the court that he observed significant differences between the figures in the declarations and those recorded in the statements of recount.
Rahamat said Giddings observed a decrease of approximately 19,000 votes for APNU+AFC, while the PPP/C’s tally increased by approximately 11,000 votes when the figures were compared with the recount statements.
Attorney-at-law Rahamat said Giddings’ evidence was incomplete when the court adjourned Monday and is expected to continue Tuesday.
Turning to the evidence of GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward, Rahamat said Ward testified that, during the 2020 General and Regional Elections, she received instructions from then Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield to have declarations for all 10 electoral districts posted on GECOM’s website.
According to Rahamat, Ward told the court that she forwarded the instructions, along with the relevant documents, to Giddings, who was the only person responsible for uploading material to the commission’s website.
Rahamat said Ward’s evidence corroborated testimony previously given concerning the publication of declarations for District Four after March 5, 2020.
She said Ward also testified about a second set of instructions from Lowenfield concerning declarations for District Four that had been posted on March 7.
According to the prosecutor, Ward told the court that she received instructions to have those declarations replaced with two new sets of declarations for the Regional and General Elections, which were subsequently posted on March 14, 2020.
Rahamat said the same procedure was followed, with Ward forwarding the instructions and documents to Giddings for publication.
The prosecutor said Giddings subsequently confirmed receiving the instructions and declarations on March 7 and March 14, 2020, and told the court that he complied with the instructions to upload them to the GECOM website.
The prosecutor also highlighted Giddings’ role during the national recount, stating he was responsible for certifying each statement of recount.
According to her, Giddings’ evidence concerning the differences between the election declarations and the recount statements is expected to continue when the trial resumes.
The nine accused are facing charges arising from allegations that the results of the 2020 General and Regional Elections were manipulated, particularly in relation to the tabulation and declaration of results for Region Four.
Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former APNU+AFC Minister Volda Lawrence and former APNU+AFC Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph.
The other accused are former GECOM employees Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, Michelle Miller and Denise Bobb-Cummings.
The prosecution has alleged that the accused conspired to manipulate the tabulation of votes in Region Four during Guyana’s March 2020 General and Regional Elections, ultimately seeking to secure a false result in favour of APNU+AFC.
It further alleged that the coalition’s votes were inflated, those of the PPP/C reduced, and the prescribed process for ascertaining the results departed from.
