Guyana: Court Continues Scrutiny Of 2020 Election Records In Alleged Fraud Trial

The high-stakes trial examining allegations of systemic electoral fraud arising from Guyana’s March 2020 General and Regional Elections continued on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. Large storage boxes of certified Statements of Poll (SOPs) were placed under judicial scrutiny. The proceedings, presided over by Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, focused on documented electoral evidence recovered from Districts (Regions) 4, 5, and 6.

The court examined the chronological chain of custody and overall integrity of key electoral assets. State’s witness, Police Inspector Nigel Stephens of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, resumed his testimony. Inspector Stephens identified successive batches of certified SOP copies presented by the prosecution and verified that the records corresponded with distinct verification markings, stamps, and signatures he had placed on them during a cross-checking exercise conducted shortly after the election cycle.

Inspector Stephens testified that he first encountered the original certified materials on May 29, 2021, during an official visit to the Supreme Court of Judicature, where they were handed over by Registrar Sueanna Lovell. This meeting initiated a structured forensic verification process involving thousands of individual Statements of Poll and Statements of Recount linked to the disputed elections.

He detailed the security protocols enacted to preserve the evidentiary trail, stating that upon completion of the verification process, the records were locked inside specialized safes within a heavily guarded area at CID headquarters. He emphasized that security access was tightly controlled and that the safes were never breached outside of statutory judicial procedures.

On Monday, prosecutors introduced further batches of certified SOPs covering the targeted regions. Inspector Stephens reviewed the new folders, confirming under oath that the certification stamps and validation signatures matched his handwriting. The trial features several high-profile political figures and election bureaucrats facing conspiracy and misconduct charges, including Keith Lowenfield, Roxanne Myers, Clairmont Mingo, Volda Lawrence, and others. The trial will continue this week as the prosecution introduces additional documentary evidence to the court.

Source: hgptv.com