2020 Election fraud trial: Mingo dodged Police questions on source of numbers in initial Region 4 declarations

…as Court shown Police interview on false declarations

Former Guyana Elections Commission Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, skirted around answering questions on how he arrived at the 2020 election results figures that he had initially declared when he was questioned by the Police back in August 2020 at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Mingo also sidestepped confirming that he made declarations of Region Four results on March 5 and March 12 or whether it was his authentic signature on the declaration forms used in those declarations.

This is according to a recording played to the court on Thursday when proceedings in the trial of the alleged election fraud case continued on Thursday morning before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrate Court.
In the afternoon session, the court was also shown recordings of Police interrogations of Mingo’s co-accused, Carol Smith-Joseph and Volda Lawrence.
The video of Mingo’s interrogation was played as part of the testimony of Police Officer Romario Campbell, a crime scene examiner, videographer and fingerprinting specialist, who recorded the video of the Police questioning of Mingo on August 26, 2020.
In the video, Mingo can be seen being interrogated by Head of Major Crimes Unit Senior Superintendent Mitchell Caesar and another officer.

Video recordings
In the recording, Mingo is seen acknowledging that the numbers generated for the declaration of the election results are supposed to come from the Statement of Polls (SOPs). The election declaration is officially documented on Form 24, a statutory document in the election process.
“I am saying to you that whatever is on the Form 24 is generated from all the SOPs that are collected from March 2,” Mingo can be heard saying.
However, Caesar questioned Mingo on how there were more than 160 instances where the numbers on the SOP submitted to Mingo were different from the numbers that Mingo would have declared on his declaration form.
When shown a copy of a Form 24 which a signature purported to be his, Mingo said he would not confirm that the signature on the form was his.
“I wouldn’t commit and say,” Mingo noted.
Questioned about what became of the SOPs, Mingo noted that they were handed over to the then Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield.
“The SOP from me… Those were sent back to the [GECOM] Headquarters a long, long time ago. It becomes the property of the Chief Elections Officer,” Mingo noted.
Questioned about discrepancies in the declarations made on March 5 and then a subsequent declaration on March 12, Mingo noted that he had never confessed to having made those two declarations.
“I still have not confirmed,” Mingo noted.
However, Caesar confronted him with the evidence and witnesses.
“The thing is, Mr Mingo, it’s public knowledge that you made two declarations. To sit and say you don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty… In confirming you made two declarations, you leave me with no other alternative than to confront you with someone who was there when you made one of those two declarations,” Caesar noted as he prepared to bring in witnesses.
Mingo pleaded for an opportunity to go “off the record” to explain himself. This was refused by Caesar.
“For me to say yes would be unfair to you. To tell you to go off the record would not be the best thing… We are aware of two declarations made. What do you want to clarify?” Caesar noted.
Sonia Parag, who at the time functioned as an Elections Agent for the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), was later brought into the room and gave testimony to witnessing Mingo making attempts to make a declaration on March 5, at the Ashmin’s Building, of the results for Region Four, notwithstanding the tabulation of the SOPs not having been completed.
Parag also spoke of the pandemonium that unfolded. Mingo chose not to respond to Parag’s claims when given an opportunity to do so.
In the afternoon session of Thursday’s proceedings, Police Sergeant David Samnarine took the stand.
Samnarine was the videographer on 20 October, 2020, when the Police interrogated both Smith-Joseph and Lawrence in separate interviews. During those interviews, both women noted that they had nothing to say in the matters put before them, and they were subsequently allowed to leave.

Co-defendants
Mingo, Lowenfield, Smith-Joseph, and Lawrence are among nine individuals currently facing 19 charges of conspiracy to commit electoral fraud for the events that occurred following the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections (GRE).
Other persons charged include Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers and former GECOM employees Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, Michelle Miller and Denise Babb-Cummings.
After smooth and peaceful voting on March 2, the election process descended into chaos in the tabulation of the election results in Region Four, where Mingo was tasked with computing and declaring the results. However, Mingo continually attempted to make election declarations with numbers that were apparently tampered with.
The results as announced by Mingo initially would have led the win to the then ruling A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) coalition; however, this proved fraudulent, as it was later revealed that the elections were won by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.
The trial continues on Friday when former candidate for The New Movement (TNM) political party, Josh Kanhai, is expected to take the stand.