HGP Nightly News – Questions over who can actually verify key election documents took centre stage in the ongoing 2020 elections trial, as the court heard testimony about Form 24 declarations submitted for admission into evidence.
Guyana Police Force officer Nigel Stephens tendered a number of Form 24 declarations which he said were received from GECOM Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward. But under questioning, Stephens acknowledged that he could not independently verify the contents of the declarations or identify who had prepared them.
That gap in authentication has become significant because Ward had earlier testified that she transmitted the declarations for publication on the instructions of senior GECOM officials. She also said she did not independently verify the information contained in the documents.
Ward further indicated that she could not authenticate the signatures appearing on replacement District Four declarations.
The court nevertheless admitted certain Form 24s as public documents, while questions surrounding their authentication and the circumstances in which they were prepared remain part of the evidence before the court.
The document trail unfolded alongside testimony from former GECOM IT Manager Aneal Giddings, who was under cross-examination Tuesday.
Giddings conceded that, while a GECOM server was in his sole possession inside his personal vehicle during the March 2020 election period, it was technically possible for election information to have been extracted from the server.
He said he had removed the server from Ashmin’s Building during a bomb threat and placed it in his silver-grey Toyota Witz. He did not notify another GECOM official or commissioner at the time.
Giddings also testified that he was the only person with credentials to upload documents to the GECOM website. With the server, UPS, keyboard, mouse, monitor and a flash drive available, he acknowledged that data could technically have been extracted while the equipment was in his possession.
He maintained, however, that the server was removed because of the bomb threat and that Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers later instructed him to return with it.
Earlier testimony established that election data had been backed up during the bomb threat on Myers’ instructions.
Giddings also told the court that he did not have a copy of his employment contract, the standard operating procedures governing his position, or an email thread relating to his authority for securing pre-election preparations.
Meanwhile, Guyana Fire Service dispatcher Candica Audain testified that she received a March 4, 2020 call requesting an ambulance at Ashmin’s Building and dispatched one.
The trial involves nine defendants, including former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers and former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, who face charges arising from the handling of the 2020 election results and have maintained their innocence.
Giddings’ cross-examination is expected to continue Wednesday.
