-admits that his numbers did not match what Mingo declared
-claims he begged Norton in a letter to ‘come clean’

REGIONAL Vice-Chairman of Region Four and former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, Samuel Sandy, in a revealing interview, has unequivocally stated that the APNU+AFC coalition lost the 2020 elections.

Sandy made this revelation during the most recent episode of the Starting Point Podcast, where he spoke about his recent endorsement of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) ahead of the upcoming 2025 elections.

He used some of the time to delve into the reasons for his exit from the PNC and unsettling issues he has never spoken about before.

“I’ll categorically state that in 2020, the APNU+AFC lost the elections,” Sandy asserted, as he addressed longstanding controversies surrounding the results.

“I was responsible for collecting all SOPs (Statements of Poll). I took pictures. I kept them. I still have them. I went to the Ashmin’s Building. I listened to the numbers being tabulated,” he continued, noting that he also looked at his numbers against those that were being tabulated.

Sandy expressed his personal dilemma during the tabulation process, recalling, “I thought to myself, where might this be going? It was more about choosing between supporting the hope of our large section of society and that of personal integrity.”

When asked about the aftermath of his findings, Sandy revealed the challenges he faced in confronting the discrepancies.

He noted that at the time he was residing in one of the stronghold areas of the PNC and was facing an internal conflict. “I live in Golden Grove, a stronghold of the PNC. How can I go home and say, hey, I just informed them that the numbers declared weren’t the actual numbers that I shared with the party?”

Reflecting on the opposition’s stance over the years, Sandy expressed scepticism about their claims regarding SOPs.

He said, “I challenge anyone to tell me different because like I said, [I have] dated photo evidence of what I submitted as opposed to what Mingo declared.”

When asked if he was afraid to speak out, he noted that he has always been afraid to speak out, but he has since made peace with himself in that regard.

He disclosed that he had written PNCR leader, Aubrey Norton begging him to be honest with the people of Guyana and to tell them that the party had lost the 2020 elections.

As the country heads into another electoral cycle, he was asked whether he believes it is incumbent on the part of the current opposition leader to face the nation and admit that for five years they have been fooling their support base about what transpired in 2020.

In his response, he said that the leader wouldn’t do so and from his observation, former President David Granger had no idea what was happening.
“If he [Granger] had any idea what was happening, he wouldn’t have agreed to a recount,” he said.

A Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the events of the 2020 General and Regional Elections found that there was collusion and collaboration between senior Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials to divert votes to the APNU+AFC instead of safeguarding and preserving the integrity of the electoral system.

Chairman Stanley John and Commissioners — former Chancellor, Carl Singh and Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith made these findings based on evidence from the many witnesses who testified along with the reports of the international observers.

“…our inquiry reveals that there were, in fact, shockingly brazen attempts by Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers and Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo to derail and corrupt the statutorily prescribed procedure for the counting, ascertaining and tabulation of votes of the March 2nd election, as well as the true declaration of the results of that election, and that they did so – to put it in unvarnished language of the ordinary man – for the purpose of stealing the election,” the Commissioners said in their report.

The Guyanese electorate after casting votes on March 2, 2020, endured a five-month wait for the results as they witnessed alleged unlawful acts and a slew of legal challenges.

At that time, the patience of the electorate was tested, as they observed what were described as attempts by the then APNU+AFC administration to rip the democratic fabric of the nation with “delay tactics” which were openly criticised by Caribbean leaders and international observers.