2020 election fraud case: Court resumes trial as defence challenges Police interrogation videos

The trial into the 2020 elections fraud case resumed before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday with the continuation of proceedings into the voir dire on the admissibility of a video recording of a police interrogation of former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo.

The trial last adjourned on October 31, with the prosecution still presenting its case. The defence is currently challenging the admissibility of a number of recordings of police interrogations that are being offered into evidence. The recordings show the police interrogation of a number of the defendants in the case.
In each instance the Magistrate will hold separate voir dire to determine whether certain evidence is admissible at trial. In this context, the Magistrate will hear arguments and testimony about the evidence in question. Attorneys may call witnesses, question experts, or present legal arguments to show why the evidence should either be allowed or excluded. The Magistrate will then rule on its admissibility before the wider case continues. Nine persons are currently facing 19 charges of conspiracy to commit electoral fraud for the events that occurred following the March 2, 2020 General Elections. Aside from Mingo these include former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, former A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Minister Volda Lawrence, APNU+AFC Chief Scrutineer Carol Joseph, and former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) employees Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, Michelle Miller, and Denise Bobb-Cummings.
Among the offences the defendants are accused of committing are misconduct while holding public office; presenting falsified documentation; and planning to manipulate Guyana’s voters by presenting an inaccurate vote total. These charges stem from attempts to rig the 2020 Elections in favour of the then ruling APNU/AFC.
The elections fraud trials first commenced on July 29, 2024 and was initially being heard by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and was expected to run from July 29 to September 13, 2024. However, a series of delays, deferrals and media leave by the Magistrate ensued and the matter was eventually taken before the court of now acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, who continues to preside over the matter. A series of hearings have been held in recent weeks with several state witnesses taking the stand.