The trial in the 2020 elections fraud case was on Wednesday adjourned until September 15, after the prosecution was unable to provide any witnesses for the remaining trial days this week.
The trial was expected to continue on Wednesday morning at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, however the prosecution indicated that the witness for the day was unavailable due to an emergency.
While the trial was expected to run for the rest of the week, it was decided that due to the unavailability of the witnesses and a number of other mitigating factors it was best to adjourn the trial until September. When it resumes the trial will run from September 15 – 18 and then September 21 – 25, then September 28 – 30 before entering another adjournment.
Wednesday’s adjournment came just two days after the last witness that the prosecution was intending to present was unable to be present in court due to being out of the jurisdiction. The witness, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Anneal Giddings, attempted to give his testimony virtually however this was objected to by defense attorney, Nigel Hughes.
The prosecution indicated that it was uncertain when Giddings would be returning. Prior to Giddings’ virtual appearance, the last witness in the case was Supreme Court Registrar, Sueann Lovell. During her testimony the Statement of Polls (SOPs) and Statement of Recount (SORs) from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections (GRE) was entered into evidence.
Nine persons are currently before the court charged with conspiracy to commit electoral fraud in relation to the tabulation of votes for Region Four in the 2020 GRE.
Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Minister Volda Lawrence, former APNU+AFC Chief Scrutineer, Carol SMith-Joseph, and former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) employees Enrique Livan, Sheffern February, Michelle Miller, and Denise Bobb-Cummings.
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