Elections 2020 Trial: ANUG rep recalls being “threatened” during spreadsheet tabulation

A New and United Guyana (ANUG) party representative on Wednesday gave alarming testimony in the ongoing elections fraud trial, recounting how chaos erupted behind closed doors when attempts were allegedly made to verify Region Four votes using a spreadsheet rather than official Statements of Poll (SOPs).
Jonathan Yearwood, a local activist and former ANUG executive, told the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts that not only were objections by party representatives and observers ignored, but threats were made, culminating in his own arrest after he protested the controversial procedure.
Yearwood was testifying under oath before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty as the trial into alleged electoral fraud during the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections continued.
Nine individuals, including high-ranking former GECOM officials and APNU+AFC operatives, are currently facing charges of conspiring to defraud the elections in favour of the then-incumbent APNU+AFC coalition.
Among the accused are former Minister Volda Lawrence, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, and APNU+AFC’s Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph.
Yearwood testified that on the morning of March 13, 2020, he arrived at the Ashmin’s Building, which was being used as the GECOM Command Centre. Expecting to participate in the verification of Region Four’s SOPs, Yearwood said he and other political party representatives were instead ushered into a separate room, not the one assigned for tabulation. He claimed that the room was at the back of the building, next to the car park.
Inside, he said, returning officer Clairmont Mingo informed the group that the verification process would not be conducted using the official SOPs from polling stations as legally required. Instead, Mingo announced that a spreadsheet had been prepared and would be used to call out the results. This, Yearwood said, sent shockwaves through the room.
“We objected immediately,” he told the court. “I personally took photographs,” Yearwood said.
However, Yearwood explained that the spreadsheet figures being read out were “blurry” and difficult to verify. He also claimed the data did not match the SOPs in their possession.
Despite their growing concerns, Yearwood claimed that Mingo allegedly dismissed the objections outright and made what he described as a thinly veiled threat.
“I was threatened at the beginning of this process that if we made any disruptions, we would be asked to leave. We were also asked not to use any electronic devices; I objected to that… Eventually, Mr Mingo conceded and said yes, we can use our phones, but he asked us not to send information outside of the room.” Yearwood testified.
As the confrontation escalated, Yearwood said GECOM staffer Denise Babb-Cummings took over the role of calling out the spreadsheet figures. While this was happening, party representatives, both local and international, continued to voice their opposition to what they viewed as a clear departure from legal and transparent procedures.
The tension, Yearwood said, reached a boiling point when Carol Smith-Joseph, acting on behalf of the APNU+AFC, began verbally attacking him and others who were objecting.
“She threatened and verbally abused both local and international observers,” he stated.
Yearwood said Mingo eventually returned to the room and announced that the process would be suspended and resume later that afternoon at GECOM’s Kingston office. But Yearwood said he was not willing to remain silent.
He claimed that he told Mingo that if anything erupted because of the system being used, he would be the cause of it. That statement, he said, triggered an even more hostile reaction, with Smith-Joseph allegedly continuing to hurl verbal abuse, not only at him but at others present.

Frustrated and alarmed by the unfolding events, Yearwood said he left the building in protest. But what happened next added yet another layer to the controversy: he was arrested and taken to the Brickdam Police Station but was later released, he told the court.
Yearwood’s account has become a pivotal part of the prosecution’s case in a trial that has gripped the country since charges were first brought against senior election officials and political figures accused of attempting to rig the 2020 election in favour of the APNU+AFC.
The controversy surrounding the tabulation of Region Four votes delayed the official declaration of results by five months, sparking local and international condemnation. The political deadlock was only broken on August 2, 2020, when Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) was finally sworn in as President.
The trial continues on Friday, June 27, with more witnesses expected to testify about the behind-the-scenes events that nearly plunged Guyana into a constitutional crisis.