POLITICAL representatives of then opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and other parties and observers strongly objected to and expressed concerns over former Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield’s use of spreadsheets to tabulate the votes in Region Four during the contentious 2020 General and Regional Elections.

This revelation came as Rosalinda Rasul, an election observer with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana, provided further testimony when the election fraud trial continued on Tuesday.
The witness, a member of the AmCham observer team accredited to monitor the elections, testified before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court that Lowenfield’s justification for using spreadsheets in the verification of results raised concerns among observers, agents of the then-opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), and representatives of smaller political parties.

Votes for Region Four, Guyana’s largest electoral district, were counted at Ashmin’s Building on High Street, Georgetown, which also served as GECOM’s command centre.
The witness said that to the best of her knowledge the standard procedure required the use of Statements of Poll (SoPs) to manually verify results, but instead, Lowenfield opted for an electronic method.
Under further cross-examination, defence counsel Ronald Daniels put to the witness: “When Mr Lowenfield was present, Mr [Bharrat] Jagdeo told him to resort to the SoPs [Statements of Poll]. And he [Lowenfield] said that he was going to consult with his senior before making a decision.
“As a matter of fact, even when the issue came up with the spreadsheets, Mr Lowenfield said that, given the events of the day and the time-sensitive nature of these proceedings, the spreadsheets were being used for expediency,” Daniels further suggested to the witness.
Responding to counsel’s suggestion, Rasul stated, “He didn’t explain that—just expediency he said.”

Rasul further stated that when concerns were raised about observers and party agents lacking access to the spreadsheets and discrepancies were identified, Lowenfield promised to consult with GECOM’s Information Technology department to address the issue and make the spreadsheets available.
Rasul described how, after the polls closed on March 2, 2020, the counting process turned chaotic at times, with protests erupting over the use of spreadsheets.
She stated that the police intervened, but their actions were focused solely on PPP/C agents “who were making noise” and preventing them from entering the building, despite the fact that A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) members were also present and not prevented.
Acting Chief Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty, is set to hear further testimony from Rasul today.

The defendants in this case are former Region Four Returning Office Clairmont Mingo; former health minister under the APNU+AFC government Volda Lawrence; and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member Carol Smith-Joseph. Also facing charges are Lowenfield; former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers; and GECOM workers Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.
Collectively, they face 19 conspiracy charges and are represented by a robust defence team. Due to the charges arising from the same set of circumstances, the matters have been consolidated. Each defendant has pleaded not guilty to the charges and secured their release by posting significant cash bail.
The prosecution’s case is that the defendants manipulated the Region Four tabulation process in favour of the then-incumbent APNU+AFC coalition.

Prosecutors plan to call approximately 72 witnesses, including Minister of Local Government Sonia Parag, and GECOM Chairperson retired Justice Claudette Singh, to substantiate their case.
On the prosecution’s side, there is King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, attorney Latchmie Rahamat and other counsel. Besides Daniels, the other defence attorneys include Nigel Hughes, Eusi Anderson, Daren Wade and Cassidé Nurse.
The initial results announced by former CEO Lowenfield, claimed an APNU+AFC victory, but a recount led by GECOM and a high-level Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegation revealed a win for the PPP. The recount confirmed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes against the then

ruling APNU+AFC coalition’s 217,920. The APNU+AFC coalition received 171,825 votes, while the PPP/C received 166,343 votes, according to Lowenfield’s election report.
Following the PPP’s return to office in August 2020, criminal charges were filed against the defendants.

GECOM made the decision to terminate the contracts of Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo in August 2021, after the allegations of fraud came to light, a move that was welcomed by many. If convicted in the Magistrates’ Court, the defendants could face up to three years in prison for each charge, according to the prosecution.