After two weeks of hearing, the trial into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections was on Friday adjourned, with a series of dates fixed to guide proceedings through until June, 2026.
The trial is being heard at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty.
Friday’s hearing was set for the continuation of void dires involving two of the defendants, Sherfane February and Denise Babb Cummings. Several Police witnesses testified during the voir dires, and the court heard that two more witnesses remain to testify in February’s void dire.
The trial is advancing under structured case management guidelines.
So, on Friday dates were also set for future hearing following agreement by both the prosecution and defence.
The next proceeding in the trial is March 27, 2026.
Thereafter, hearings will be on March 31. The dates in March are set aside specifically for the completion of the void dires.
Further trial dates are scheduled for: April 20 and April 24 to 27, May 18 and May 20 to 22 and June 15 to 19 and June 22 to 26.
Before Friday proceedings was adjourned, defence attorney Eusi Anderson informed the court that one of the accused, Enrique Livan, is currently suffering from pneumonia in both lungs. As such, Anderson requested that he be allowed to join the hearings remotely until he recovers. The request was granted.
On Thursday, former Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, took the witness stand, focusing his testimony on the tabulation process for Region Four at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre at Ashmin’s Building.
Benn told the court that while voting on March 2, 2020 proceeded smoothly, tensions arose the following day when tabulation was halted after former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, indicated that staff were tired.
He said when tabulation resumed, the figures entered did not match the Statements of Poll (SOPs), leading to objections from opposition agents. Benn also detailed events on March 4, including Mingo’s reported illness, discrepancies in tabulated figures, and the discovery of GECOM staff working with spreadsheets in a separate room.
According to Benn, further disputes erupted on March 5 when an alternative tabulation process was established and Mingo later attempted to declare the results for Region Four from a balcony, prompting objections and intervention from the Police.
He added that by March 13, 2020 following court action, Mingo was required to properly tabulate and present the results.
Benn had been scheduled to return to court on Friday afternoon to continue his testimony. However, the court was informed that he would not be appearing. No reason was provided.
Nine individuals are currently before the court, charged with conspiring to manipulate the election results in favour of APNU+AFC in an attempt to deny victory to the PPP.
Those charged include former government minister Volda Lawrence, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, among others.
The controversy surrounding the March 2020 elections delayed the declaration of official results for five months, until PPP candidate Irfaan Ali was sworn in as President on August 2, 2020.
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