Election Fraud case further delayed
…court may be forced to change Magistrate
Kaieteur News – The trial concerning the 2020 Election Fraud case which was set to reopen on Tuesday, has been postponed yet again to October 31, 2024, as Senior Magistrate Leroy Daly remains ill.
The hearing, which took place at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, was overseen by Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty who further adjourned the trial. She informed both the prosecution and the defence that if Magistrate Daly remains unwell, the court may need to assign the case to a different magistrate or court.
“If her illness continues, we (the court) as well as the prosecution and defence may be forced to take another route, in which case certain submissions may have to be made regarding the viability of the matter proceeding before another court or magistrate,” Magistrate McGusty stated.
The trial initially began on July 29, 2024, but was briefly adjourned three days later and was scheduled to resume on September 17 due to Magistrate Daly’s illness. To date, only two prosecution witnesses have testified, with one testimony still incomplete.
Prior to the adjournment, during the last session on July 31, 2024, Attorney-at-Law Darshan Ramdhani KC, the lead prosecutor, requested that the two witnesses retake the stand. This request was contested by defence attorneys Darren Wayne, Eusi Anderson, and Ronald Daniels. After the back-and-forth arguments between both sides, Magistrate Daly indicated that she needed time to consider the arguments and decided to adjourn the matter until August 5, 2024. However, over the weekend, it was announced that Magistrate Daly had taken a 30-day sick leave, leading to another delay until September 17.
The trial involves nine defendants who are facing 19 conspiracy charges. The accused include former GECOM Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield; former Returning Officer for District Four Clairmont Mingo; former Deputy Chief Election Officer Roxanne Myers; former Minister Volda Lawrence; APNU+AFC’s Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith Joseph; and former GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Liven, Michelle Miller, and Denise Babb-Cummings. Most of the defendants appeared at the hearing, but Miller, February, and Babb-Cummings were absent. Former Minister Lawrence participated virtually.
The charges allege that between March 2 and August 2, 2020, at Ashmins’ Building in Georgetown, Lowenfield, Mingo, and Myers conspired with Lawrence, Joseph, February, Liven, Cummings, Miller, and others to defraud the electors of Guyana by presenting false votes from the March 2, 2020, general and regional elections.
