Local Government Minister, Sonia Parag took the witness stand on Tuesday as the trial into the alleged attempt to rig Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections resumed at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Local Government Minister Sonia Parag, who testified on Tuesday in the 2020 election fraud trial
Parag, who served as an agent for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) during the election outlined what she described as a chaotic and deeply troubling series of events that unfolded during the tabulation of Region Four (Demerara Mahaica) votes, the final and most pivotal district to be counted.
Parag’s testimony painted a picture of deliberate obstruction, misinformation, and open defiance of electoral procedures by officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), particularly during the period of March 4–5, 2020. She told the court that the vote tabulation process at the Ashmins building was derailed by GECOM officials using a spreadsheet whose figures bore no resemblance to the official Statements of Poll (SOPs).
“I remember comparing the number read from Box 4001 to my copy of the SOP, and they didn’t match. I objected immediately and asked the official to repeat it,” she testified. “They were inflating numbers in favour of APNU/AFC (A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change) and deducting votes from the PPP/C.”
Parag was referring specifically to Election Officer, Mitchelle Miller, who she said pressed ahead with tabulating the disputed numbers despite her repeated objections and those of other party agents and international observers. “Every box from 4001 to 4021 I objected to. All of them had numbers that didn’t match the official SOPs,” she said.
Despite the pushback, Miller allegedly continued with the process until Keith Lowenfield, then Chief Elections Officer (CEO) entered the room. But rather than halt the flawed tabulation, Parag recounted that Lowenfield insisted the spreadsheet figures were aligned with the SOPs. It was only after the intervention of the Bar Association President, Attorney Teni Housty, who cited specific electoral laws, that SOPs were finally brought into use, confirming discrepancies. But the compliance was short-lived.
According to Parag, the process soon slowed to a crawl as GECOM staff complained of fatigue. By the following day, the exercise had come to a complete halt. Around 11:00h on March 5, then Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers reportedly ordered an evacuation of the Ashmins building citing a bomb threat, an excuse Parag said she found dubious and refused to obey. “I didn’t move. I didn’t believe there was any bomb,” she said firmly.
‘Thief, thief’
Soon after, in one of the most dramatic moments of her testimony, Parag recalled seeing Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo reappear in the building, allegedly recovered from an earlier bout of illness, only to announce he was ready to make a declaration. She said the room erupted in protest.
“I stood up and said, ‘You cannot do this, Mr Mingo. The Region Four tabulation exercise is not completed.’”
Despite the objections, Parag said Mingo appeared to continue with the process and soon after, a Form 24 document declaring Region Four results was discovered on the GECOM website. According to her, the declaration bore two signatures and was published despite the vote count being incomplete.
“People were shouting ‘thief, thief!’ when he was seen on the third-floor balcony. There was shouting everywhere. The whole place turned chaotic,” she recalled, describing the atmosphere as tense and hostile. “I saw Volda Lawrence heading up the escalator to where Mingo was. It was clear something was being orchestrated.”
The revelation sparked urgent legal action. A Fixed Date Application was filed before Chief Justice Roxane George, and several injunctions were granted to prevent any further declarations without a proper tabulation. Yet the attempts to bypass procedure allegedly continued.
Parag told the court that the tabulation process was relocated to GECOM’s Kingston Georgetown headquarters on March 13, where the figures were projected onto a bedsheet-, a move she said further undermined the transparency of the process.
“The numbers on the screen were blurred. I couldn’t compare them with the SOPs. It was impossible to verify them…they were moving very fast,” she testified, noting that objections continued to pour in from PPP/C agents and election observers.
The final straw came with another declaration from Mingo, again made without completing a verifiable count.
These declarations, and the events leading up to them, ultimately triggered a 33-day national recount, which Parag actively participated in. The recount later confirmed that the PPP/C had secured the majority of votes, paving the way for President Irfaan Ali’s swearing-in in August 2020, five months after the elections.
Meanwhile, Rosalinda Rasul, who served as an election observer for the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) during the elections, also gave testimony, wrapping up several days on the stand. Rasul, now the Head of the Diaspora Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, corroborated claims that efforts were made to derail the democratic process.
On Tuesday, she was reexamined by the prosecution after being crossed examined by the defence.
The trial involves nine defendants, including former Health Minister Volda Lawrence, former CEO Keith Lowenfield, former RO Clairmont Mingo, and former DCEO Roxanne Myers, all of whom are charged with conspiracy to commit electoral fraud in favour of the APNU+AFC coalition.
As proceedings continue, more witnesses are expected to testify.
