Embattled RO still not cooperating fully – Police source

Attempt to rig elections

…Ramson recalls fiasco surrounding March 5 declaration in statement to Police

As the investigation continues into the attempts to rig the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, investigators on Friday held a confrontation between embattled Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) member Charles Ramson Jr.

Back in March, Ramson Jr had filed private criminal charges against Mingo and Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the leading party of the APNU fraction of the coalition – Volda Lawrence, in relation to the unverified declaration of results for Region Four, which is Guyana’s largest voting district.
The declaration made by Mingo, which was subsequently set aside by Chief Justice Roxane George, was signed by Lawrence – the lone representation of the political parties that contested the elections. The other parties had objected to the declaration after the verification process was not fully complied with by the RO. Even the election observation missions had rejected the declaration, saying that the results lacked credibility and transparency.

Mingo, who was arrested on Tuesday, has been accused of attempting to alter the District Four results of the March 2 elections in favour of the APNU/AFC, which was refusing to accept electoral defeat and has been accused of attempting to undermine the will of the people.
Sources close to the investigation told Guyana Times that the embattled Returning Officer has not been “fully” cooperating with investigators, who on Friday secured a 24-hour extension to further detain Mingo until today as the probe continues.
Nevertheless, on Friday, Ramson said he was called in to give his statement to the police and a confrontation was held between him and Mingo at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters at Eve Leary.
When contacted, Ramson, who is an attorney-at-law, disclosed that his interview with investigators lasted approximately one hour during which the embattled RO remained mum.
“I related my story and all he was doing was listening,” he told Guyana Times.
Notably, however, Ramson recalled that Mingo had shaken his head in affirmation when he was relating the fact that his request for a recount of the District Four votes was rejected.
Moreover, Ramson said that he told investigators in his statement that prior to the verification process, he and other party agents had met RO Mingo, who explained the procedure including the projection of the figures of the Statements of Poll (SoPs) onto a screen.
This was the day before elections. Ramson said he recounted to the police that on polling day, he returned to the Office of the Returning Officer, which was housed in Ashmins building, located on High and Hadfield Streets, after the close of polls and that it was until 02:00h the following morning that the tabulation process begun.
“[I told the police] that there were many instances of there being interruptions; that he never completed the verification process using the Statements of Poll; and that he made the declaration on March 5. After he had stood there and made the declaration, Joseph Eastman had told us that a declaration was made and told us to leave the room, and that shortly thereafter, we saw the declaration online and the figures did not match – [it] was not tabulated using the SoPs given to us by GECOM. I then got a letter, requested a recount… And [Mingo] had hid in his office even though I was rapping on his office and everyone else’s office… all the door handles were removed from all the offices upstairs.”
Ramson, who was recently appointed a Minister in the new PPP/C Government, said he further told the investigators that “I saw Volda Lawrence and James Bond heading upstairs – towards [Mingo’s] office” and then sometime later, the RO “was scurried out the building through the back exit surrounded by Police Officers and I had never seen him again after [in person] up until today.”
In fact, Ramson told this publication that since March, they were unable to serve the embattled RO with the private criminal charges filed against him.
Only Monday, those charges against Mingo and Lawrence in relation to the unverified declaration of results for Region Four came up before the court. They are being accused of forging official electoral documents in an effort to defraud the country.
Lawrence was arraigned and placed a $100,000 bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennon. Mingo, however, did not make a court appearance as he was never served with the private criminal charges filed against them.
Last week, the Police Force announced that it was investigating alleged criminal conduct by Mingo along with others including the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, who is also currently facing private criminal fraud charges before the courts.
It was Mingo’s attempts to alter the results of the elections that led to the National Recount exercise which ultimately proved the major differences in the figures being called by the RO compared to the actual numbers of votes cast. (G8)