THE election fraud trial of former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo and others, continued on Thursday before Acting Chief Magistrate, Faith Mc Gusty, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The prosector, State Counsel Madana Rampersaud presented video evidence of Mingo’s 2020 police interview as well as a recorded confrontation with Minister of Education Sonia Parag.

The court viewed a video recorded interview of a confrontation between Mingo and Parag at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters. The session was conducted by Senior Superintendent Mitchell Caesar and Assistant Superintendent Komal Pitamber.

Parag, then an attorney-at-law and candidate for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) during the 2020 General and Regional Elections, was questioned by Caesar about what she observed at the Ashmin Building.

The facility was being used as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre and the Region Four Returning Office for the tabulation of votes.

Asked to recall events of March 4, 2020, at the Ashmin building, Parag explained that GECOM staffers began using spreadsheets rather than Statements of Poll (SoPs), which had been used the previous day.

A SoP is the official document prepared at each polling station that records the number of votes cast for each party.

“I was comparing my SoPs with the spreadsheets being used [by Mingo’s assistants]. Questions were raised as to why they were using a spreadsheet, and they said they were directed to use a spreadsheet. With the use of spreadsheets, as they were calling box numbers 4001 to 4021, the numbers were not matching those on the SoPs that I had. As a result, I started to make an objection to the use of a spreadsheet, and so did members of the other political parties and election observers,” she stated.

Parag recounted that then Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield—who is also facing charges alongside Mingo—intervened. She said he stated in her presence, “that the spreadsheets were generated from the SoPs. He examined the spreadsheets, and he later sent for the SoPs for those very same boxes. They [the SoPs] came back and the numbers matched my SoPs.”

She added that on March 5, 2020, the tabulation process was scheduled to resume at 9/10:00 hrs. but instead Mingo announced he was going to make a declaration pursuant to section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act. “The place erupted in objections and noise from everyone,” Parag said.

Parag said that after this, Mingo indicated he was returning to his sick day. She explained that she did not see him for about two hours, until he later appeared on the balcony of the building.

Parag said, “The noise was so loud that whatever Mr. Mingo was saying was inaudible to me at that time. However, I know that a declaration was placed on GECOM’s website, and that was a declaration form signed by Mr. Mingo and Miss Volda Lawrence, [who is also among those facing charges], as being a declaration for the results of Region #4.”

After the minister’s account, Caesar asked Mingo, “You heard what she said?”

Mingo responded, “Yes, and I have no comments to make sir.”

A confrontation was also held between Bibi Mohamed, who was a counting agent for the PPP/C at the 2020 polls.

In a video recording, investigators could be heard asking Mingo to explain the discrepancies between more than 160 SoPs submitted to him and the figures he publicly declared. However, he repeatedly declined to provide any details.

“I have nothing to say about the figures. Anything relating to the process, I would not say. The methodologies and processes, I would not go into,” Mingo was heard saying in the video.

Questioned about discrepancies in the declarations made on March 5, 2020, and then a subsequent declaration on March 13, 2020, Mingo noted that he had never confessed to having made the declarations.

“I will not comment on that. I will not venture to comment on that,” Mingo said.

Two additional video recordings featuring defendants Carol Smith-Joseph and Lawrence were also played in court. Both appeared with their lawyer, Nigel Hughes, and chose to invoke their right to remain silent when confronted with allegations by the detectives.

The trial will continue today with further testimony.

MORE VIDEO EDVIDENCE

Earlier in the week, the court was shown portions of another video recorded interview conducted with Mingo at the CID Headquarters in August 2020.

In that recording, ASP Pitamber read Mingo his rights, telling him: “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so. But whatever you say may be put into writing and given in evidence [in a court of law].”

Mingo confirmed he understood and that he was comfortable. He was then confronted with the allegations that between March 5 and March 13, 2020, at the Ashmin building and the Guyana Elections Commission Headquarters, he conspired with others to fraudulently alter the Region Four results by inflating votes for the then-incumbent A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and reducing those of the PPP/C.

Pitamber alleged that Mingo’s declarations “inflated votes cast for APNU+AFC by 19,508 and decreased votes cast for PPP/C by over 3,558.”

He further alleged, “On March 13, 2020, you again inflated votes cast for APNU+AFC by 19,137 and decreased the PPP/C’s votes by 3,656, while the correct figures taken from the Statements of Poll revealed 116,950 votes for APNU+AFC and 80,887 votes for the PPP/C.”

The officer also told Mingo that, by uttering forged documents—specifically the declarations for Region Four—and falsifying votes, he had committed misconduct in public office.

When asked if he had anything to say, Mingo replied: “No.”

Asked again, he repeated, “No.”

BACKGROUND

Those facing charges along with the abovementioned accused is former Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers.

Also charged are former GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.

Collectively, they face 19 charges and are represented by a robust defence team.

The defence team includes lawyers Nigel Hughes, Dexter Todd, Darren Wade, Ronald Daniels, and Eusi Anderson.

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, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, argued that each defendant played a “critical role” in the deliberate effort to inflate votes for the APNU+AFC and reduce votes for the PPP/C.

In the weeks that followed the contentious March 2, 2020, vote, Guyana’s judiciary was inundated with multiple applications and appeals filed by various political actors over the electoral process.

The saga lasted five months before a national recount, led by GECOM and a delegation from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), confirmed the PPP/C’s victory and ultimately led to the swearing-in of President Dr. Irfaan Ali on August 2, 2020.

The recount confirmed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC coalition’s 217,920.

The initial elections results, announced by former CEO Lowenfield, claimed an APNU+AFC victory.

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/C’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.