THE long-awaited trial on election fraud, which involves prominent political figures and former senior election officials, has once again been delayed as a result of Senior Magistrate Leron Daly’s ongoing medical leave.
The trial, which has already faced multiple delays since the charges were first brought forward in late 2020, continues to spark concerns over when it will finally reach a conclusion.

Originally set to resume on August 7, 2024, the proceedings were delayed as Magistrate Daly was granted a 30-day medical leave, pushing the next scheduled hearing to September 17, 2024.
However, with Daly’s health issues persisting, on Tuesday, acting Chief Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty updated the court that the trial would now be further adjourned to October 31, 2024, at 10:00 hours. Magistrate Mc Gusty emphasised that if Daly is still unwell by the newly scheduled date, the court will need to assess whether she is fit to continue presiding over the case.
In such a situation, submissions will be accepted regarding her competency to remain on the case.
Should her condition not improve, Magistrate Mc Gusty said there is also a possibility that the trial could be reassigned to another magistrate for continuation.
This latest adjournment adds to the mounting delays in the trial, which have been repeatedly interrupted by legal maneuvering and procedural issues. These include requests for adjournments from the defence and prosecution, as well as the filing of a constitutional motion.
The trial, which began on July 29, 2024, has garnered national attention due to the gravity of the charges, which stem from allegations of vote manipulation during the 2020 general and regional elections.
Charged are People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) activist, Carol Smith-Joseph; former Health Minister under the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government, Volda Lawrence; former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy CEO at GECOM, Roxanne Myers; former District Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo; and GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.

They are collectively facing 19 conspiracy charges related to alleged electoral fraud.
They have all denied the charges and are out on cash bail.
It is alleged that between March 2, 2020 and August 2, 2020, Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo, while in Georgetown, conspired with the other six defendants and others to defraud the electorate of Guyana by declaring a false account of the votes cast at the highly contentious elections.
The case centres on accusations that the defendants inflated or facilitated the inflation of the vote count for Region Four, Guyana’s largest voting district, allegedly handing the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition an illegitimate victory.
While the initial results declared by former CEO Lowenfield, showed the APNU+AFC with 171,825 votes and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) with 166,343 votes, a recount and investigation revealed a different outcome.
The recount, which was supervised by GECOM and a high-level Caribbean Community (CARICOM) team, found that the APNU+AFC had actually received 217,920 votes, while the PPP/C received 233,336 votes. The recount process confirmed that the PPP/C had won the elections by a margin of over 15,000 votes.

The state’s case, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, is supported by a significant amount of evidence, including flash drives containing certified copies of Statements of Poll (SoPs) and Statements of Recount (SoRs), as well as witness statements from 80 individuals.
Video interviews and bundles of key documents have also been disclosed to the defence.
Several high-profile witnesses have already testified, including Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag, and Head of the Diaspora Unit, Rosalinda Rasul.
During her testimony, Parag highlighted that Mingo persisted in using spreadsheets for vote tabulation, despite clear directives from Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC, to rely solely on the official Statements of Poll (SoPs).
The other prosecution witnesses include Forensic Investigator, Rawle Nedd, and former Region Four Police Commander, Edgar Thomas. According to the prosecution, Mingo and other officials deliberately manipulated the results in Region Four to keep the APNU+AFC caretaker administration in power, thus undermining the democratic process.
The defence attorneys include Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, Eusi Anderson, Kiswanna Jefford and Darren Wade. The other prosecutors are attorney Latchmie Rahamat and several State Counsel from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
GECOM made the decision to dismiss Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo in August 2021, after the allegations of fraud came to light.