Forensic auditor maintains political views did not influenced testimony

Forensic auditor Terrence Jaskaran maintained on Wednesday that his publicly expressed political views did not affect his testimony as an independent expert.
He made the declaration while facing further cross-examination by defence attorney Eusi Anderson as the trial into alleged fraud arising from the 2020 General and Regional Elections continued before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Anderson began by presenting Jaskaran with a Facebook post-dated August 31, 2025, in which Jaskaran explained his reasons for voting for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP)/C.
Jaskaran confirmed that the post was his and said it represented his views at the time.
Asked whether the post amounted to a public endorsement of the PPP/C, Jaskaran declined to describe it as an endorsement. “This post is my views at that time,” he told the court. When pressed, he clarified that it highlighted “the reason, as it says here, why I will vote for PPP.”
Anderson then questioned Jaskaran about the contents of the post and whether it also expressed his views on other political parties, particularly the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). Jaskaran acknowledged that the APNU was among the parties mentioned, stating, “I list the number of parties, counsel.”
The defence subsequently questioned whether Jaskaran had publicly expressed the view that APNU was complicit in the alleged rigging of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Jaskaran was cautious in his response.
“I’ve stated my views on events at that time, counsel. So, if there is a post, then maybe I can review and let you know,” he stated.
The defence also questioned whether Jaskaran’s political views, expressed before he gave evidence, had any impact on his work as an independent expert.
Professional capacity
Initially, Jaskaran explained that the views were expressed in his capacity as a citizen, while his testimony was being given in his professional capacity as a forensic auditor.
When Anderson returned to the question and asked him directly whether his publicly expressed views on August 31, 2025 had affected his testimony, Jaskaran gave a clear response.
He said, “They did not affect my testimony.”
The post, which ran for more than six pages, was also discussed in terms of its public reach.
When asked whether he had personally worked for APNU, Jaskaran said he had not been hired by the party. He acknowledged, however, that he had conducted audits for members of APNU.
He explained that he had also worked on the previous administration in 2015 in connection with forensic audits, including work involving the Guyana Sugar Welfare Fund and the Guyana Passport Office through a company of which he was a partner.
The defence later questioned why Jaskaran had not disclosed his public political views before giving evidence.
Jaskaran maintained that he did not believe it was necessary.
“My Facebook is public; they were not hidden, so I will not. I did not. I did not feel that it was necessary. I was not asked,” he said.
Asked specifically whether he felt he needed to disclose his personal views expressed publicly as a citizen, Jaskaran replied: “I don’t feel that I need to disclose my personal views expressed in a public forum as a citizen, sir.”
Anderson further questioned him about the sources behind an August 20, 2025 post concerning what Jaskaran described as the APNU/PNC’s history of alleged election rigging. Jaskaran said he could not recall whether the post contained an academic source and would have to see the document properly.
The cross-examination continued with Anderson examining Jaskaran’s past political commentary and his views on Guyana’s electoral history.
The trial into the alleged 2020 General and Regional Election fraud is set to continue today before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Nine persons are currently before the court charged with offences ranging from conspiracy to commit electoral fraud in relation to the tabulation and declaration of votes for the 2020 elections. Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo, former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Minister Volda Lawrence and former APNU+AFC Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph.
The other accused are former GECOM employees Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, Michelle Miller and Denise Bobb-Cummings. The prosecution, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, alleged that the nine accused conspired to manipulate the tabulation of votes in Region Four and ultimately declare a false result in favour of APNU+AFC.
It further alleged that the accused inflated the coalition’s votes, reduced those of the PPP/C and departed from the prescribed process for ascertaining the results.