Elections 2020 Trial: Audio evidence presented in court on Elections chaos

The trial into alleged attempts to rig the 2020 Elections continued Friday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty is presiding over the proceedings.
On Friday, a series of audio recordings taken during the March 2020 General and Regional Elections were played in court.
The recordings were presented as part of the ongoing testimony of activist Jonathan Yearwood, who was present at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre at the Ashmins Building during the controversial vote tabulation process for Region Four.

Region Four was the final and most critical district to be verified and it became the central point of contention during the post-election period.
Yearwood, who had previously taken the stand, returned to continue his evidence-in-chief. The audio files he recorded were played in court in the presence of the defendants, attorneys, and the Magistrate. The recordings captured various moments from inside the Command centre, including exchanges between election officials and others present during the tabulation exercise.
During the playback, Yearwood was asked to identify the individuals heard speaking. He confirmed that he recognised the voices of former Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, GECOM staff member Denise Babb-Cummings, and GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh.

In other instances, he told the court he was unable to determine who was speaking, due to poor audio clarity or lack of familiarity with the voice.
The use of the recordings is a critical part of the prosecution’s case, which seeks to establish what took place inside the Ashmins Building during the controversial tabulation of Region Four votes.
The court has already heard that several aspects of the process raised concerns at the time, both locally and internationally, eventually contributing to a five-month delay in the final declaration of results.
Yearwood’s cross-examination was scheduled to follow the audio presentation, however, it has been delayed as court was informed that one of the Defence Attorneys, Eusi Anderson, had experienced delays and was unable to proceed with questioning at that time.
As a result, Acting Chief Magistrate McGusty adjourned the matter until July 28, 2025. Yearwood is expected to resume his appearance on that date for cross-examination.
Also participating in Friday’s proceedings was Kit Nascimento, who appeared virtually. Nascimento served as an election observer with the Private Sector Commission during the 2020 elections. He was cross-examined by Defence Attorney Ronald Daniels.
Under questioning, Nascimento explained that his role as an observer was to monitor the process and report any irregularities. He said he did not directly communicate with Mingo during the vote tabulation and that his reports were submitted solely to the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission. He also stated that he had participated in election observation before and had undergone formal training.
The trial involves nine individuals who are currently before the court facing charges of conspiring to commit electoral fraud. Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, former Ministers of Government Volda Lawrence, Mingo, and several others.
The allegations are centred around claims that the accused sought to alter the results of the Region Four count in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition, which was in power at the time.
The controversy that followed the elections led to widespread calls for transparency and accountability, and delayed the official declaration until August 2, 2020, when Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), was sworn in as President.
The trial is expected to continue with more witness testimonies when it resumes next month.