HGP Nightly News – The long-running 2020 election fraud trial suffered a major loss of momentum this week after two separate witness issues in the space of three days derailed proceedings and forced the court to adjourn the matter until September.
What had begun as another week of testimony in one of Guyana’s most politically charged criminal cases ended on Wednesday with the prosecution unable to call a witness, leaving the court with no choice but to put the matter off for months.
When the case came up before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani informed the court that the witness scheduled to testify had encountered an emergency and was unavailable to appear.
The setback was compounded by the fact that no other witness was available to continue the prosecution’s case.
With no evidence able to be led on the day, and other circumstances also taken into account, the court adjourned the trial until September.
The latest delay capped off a difficult week for the prosecution, which had already seen the trial interrupted on Monday over the planned testimony of former Guyana Elections Commission Information Technology Head Aneal Giddings.
Giddings, who served as GECOM’s IT Head during the contentious 2020 General and Regional Elections, had been expected to testify for the State. However, because he was reportedly outside of Guyana, arrangements were made for him to appear virtually.
That move was immediately challenged by defence attorney Nigel Hughes, who objected to such a critical witness giving evidence by Zoom.
Hughes argued that Giddings’ testimony formed an important part of the prosecution’s case and that he ought to be physically present in court to testify and face cross-examination in person.
The objection triggered discussions in court and attempts to determine whether another witness could be called to avoid losing the day’s proceedings. But with no immediate replacement available, the matter stalled.
By Wednesday, the prosecution again found itself unable to move the case forward, this time because its scheduled witness had encountered an emergency and could not attend.
The result is that a week that was expected to push the trial deeper into the prosecution’s case instead ended with virtually no progress and the matter now postponed for months.
The trial centres on allegations of fraud surrounding the tabulation and declaration of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, a process that plunged Guyana into political uncertainty for five months before a final declaration was made and the PPP/C was declared the winner.
Among those before the court are former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Health Minister Volda Lawrence and PNCR member Carol Smith-Joseph.
Also charged are former GECOM employees Michelle Miller, Sheffern February, Enrique Livan and Denise Babb-Cummings.
The nine accused face a total of 19 charges, including conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in public office. All have pleaded not guilty and remain on bail.
