Forensic Expert’s Political Posts Come Under Scrutiny In Alleged Elections Fraud Trial
By Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The credibility and institutional impartiality of state forensic expert Terrence Jaskaran came under blistering attack in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, after defense attorneys confronted the prosecution’s key analytical witness with years of politically partisan Facebook posts targeting the APNU+AFC coalition and mocking individual defendants currently in the dock.
Under intense cross-examination led by defense counsel Nigel Hughes and Eusi Anderson, Jaskaran conceded on the witness stand that the inflammatory social media commentary accurately represented his personal political views.
Crucially, the accountant admitted that he never disclosed his active political commentary, biases, or public political allegiance to the prosecution or the court prior to taking the stand as an objective, independent expert.
Partisan Social Media History: Accusations of Rigging and Mockery of Defendants
The defense team produced a extensive dossier of public Facebook posts authored by Jaskaran spanning multiple years, which directly challenged his status as an independent expert:
- Allegations of Systemic Fraud: Jaskaran admitted publishing statements asserting that the APNU+AFC possessed a history of electoral manipulation dating back to 1968. In another post, he characterized the coalition’s actions surrounding the March 2020 polls as a “blatant and shameless” attempt to “steal” the elections.
- Public Allegiance to the PPP/C: Jaskaran confirmed that he publicly declared on Facebook his intention to vote for the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in the 2025 general elections.
- Targeting Defendants and Opposition Leaders: Cross-examination revealed that Jaskaran’s Facebook feed featured satirical memes, derogatory commentary, and mocking imagery targeting prominent political figures and defendants, including:
- Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton
- APNU Parliamentary Lead Dr. Terrence Campbell
- Co-defendant and former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield
- Co-defendant and former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo
- Attacks on Azruddin Mohamed: The court heard that Jaskaran also posted sarcastic remarks suggesting that businessman and now-Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed would be the first person jailed for corruption under state scrutiny.
Attorneys Hughes and Anderson submitted that these public declarations demonstrated deep-seated prejudice and hostility toward the APNU+AFC and directly compromised the fairness of the prosecution against defendants such as Opposition MP Volda Lawrence and PNC/R Executive Member Carol Smith-Joseph.
Forensic Flaws: No Authentication Training, Incomplete Records, and Missing Caveats
Beyond political partiality, the defense exposed serious methodological vulnerabilities in Jaskaran’s comparative analysis of the Statements of Poll (SOPs) and statutory Form 24 declarations:
- Unstated Report Caveat: Jaskaran conceded that his entire analytical conclusion could fundamentally change if the missing Statements of Poll were produced and computed. However, under probing by Hughes, he admitted that he never included that critical caveat or limitation within his formal forensic report submitted to the court.
- Failure to Seek Missing Source Documents: Jaskaran acknowledged that he took no independent steps to request or track down copies of the missing election documents, simply relying on police declarations that they were unavailable.
- Lack of Authentication Qualifications: The witness admitted that he possesses no specialized certification, forensic forensic handwriting accreditation, or formal training to authenticate whether election documents presented to him were “true and genuine” or fraudulent copies.
Destroyed Notes and State Consultancy Retainer
The proceedings took an even sharper turn when the defense scrutinized the financial terms and administrative paper trail surrounding Jaskaran’s consultancy:
- Monthly State Retainer: Jaskaran testified that he was officially retained by the state as a forensic audit consultant in August 2020—shortly after the change of administration—and was paid approximately $300,000 (GYD) per month, alongside other state emoluments and allowances.
- Failure to Produce Contract: Despite serving as a core state expert witness, Jaskaran failed to submit his formal state consultancy agreement or his personal operational ledger to the magistrate.
- Police Instructions Destroyed: When questioned regarding contemporaneous directives handed down during the investigative process, Jaskaran admitted that working notes containing specific operational instructions from a police inspector were deliberately destroyed several years following the completion of his audit.
The cross-examination of Terrence Jaskaran remains ongoing before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, as defense counsel continues to challenge the constitutional admissibility and objective weight of the prosecution’s forensic exhibits.
