Election fraud case: Witnesses note layout changes during visit to former GECOM command centre

During a court-ordered site visit to the Guyana Elections Commission command centre in 2020, which is popularly known as Ashmins Building on Wednesday, witnesses in the election fraud case noted differences between the current structure and what they recalled from the March 2020 vote tabulation process. The visit, which was observed by members of the media but not recorded, as per court order, was part of an ongoing effort to provide context to testimony already presented in court.

Led by acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, the walkthrough included legal teams from both the prosecution and defence, the defendants and four witnesses who have already taken the stand – Local Government Minister Sonia Parag; A New and United Guyana (ANUG) executive Kian Jabour; Assistant Police Commissioner Edgar Thomas and election observer Rosalinda Rasul.
As they moved through the building, measurements were taken and recorded as Prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat asked questions. During that time, witnesses made passing comments about how the space appeared altered.
Remarks such as “this looks different,” and “there used to be a glass door here,” were heard as they recalled where key figures, including former Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, were positioned at the time Mingo was preparing to make a declaration.

During the visit, Defence Attorney Dexter Todd questioned the absence of any visual documentation, such as photos of the Ashmins Building in its original 2020 layout, highlighting the potential challenge of relying solely on memory, especially when the layout appears to have changed.
The Ashmins Building has reportedly undergone renovation and reconfiguration since it last served as the Region Four Command Centre. While the scope and timeline of the changes have not been detailed in court, those present noted that some walls, doors, and room dividers seemed different from what was described in earlier testimony.
Nine individuals, including Mingo, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, and Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, are facing 19 charges of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants bypassed official Statements of Poll (SoPs) in Region Four and used unauthorised spreadsheets to declare falsified results in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition. All defendants have pleaded not guilty and are currently out on bail.
Lead prosecutor, King’s Counsel (KC) Darshan Ramdhani stated that the visit was a very significant one.
“This was a visit to the scene of the alleged crime, and today marks a very significant event in the course of this trial. We have led about 13 witnesses so far. Of those witnesses, a number of them have given evidence as to where they were sitting in the Ashmins Building in the tabulation room, where they were seated, where the GECOM officers were seated, where Mr Mingo was standing, where Mr Lowenfield was standing, where other participants were, and where other defendants were standing,” he said.
“And so today [Wednesday], what the court had the opportunity to do was, to come to this scene with these witnesses. And the witnesses, each one of them, the others were kept out of the building…”.
The matter has been adjourned to September 15, when both the defence and prosecution are expected to make submissions. On that date, the court is expected to determine when the trial of the 2020 elections case will proceed.