THE trial into the alleged electoral fraud arising from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections resumed on Tuesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, but proceedings were once again disrupted by the absence of several defence attorneys.
When the matter was called at 09:30hrs Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty informed the court that she had received a letter from defence attorney Eusi Anderson, who indicated that he would be out of the jurisdiction for the week.
Attorney Nigel Hughes, representing defendants Carol Smith-Joseph and Clairmont Mingo, appeared virtually due to illness and requested that one of his colleagues attend in person on his behalf.
The court was adjourned until 11:00hrs to accommodate that appearance; however, when attorney Ronald Daniels later advised that the colleague was unavailable, the magistrate granted a second adjournment to the afternoon session.
When the hearing resumed later in the day, the expected representative still did not appear.
CROSS-EXAMINATION PROCEEDS WITHOUT COUNSEL
Due to the continued absences, Magistrate McGusty allowed the prosecution to proceed with the cross-examination of two witnesses.
When asked if they had questions for the witness, Mingo responded “no,” while Smith-Joseph told the court, “We don’t know. Our counsel has not directed us on that.”
Magistrate McGusty expressed her frustration at the recurring delays, noting that multiple opportunities had already been given to facilitate the defence.
“Counsel [Nigel Hughes] appeared on Zoom this morning and indicated to me that another counsel would be holding for him. I adjourned the case to 11 a.m., and [Mr. Ronald Daniels] indicated that the counsel was not available, so we adjourned to this afternoon, and she is still not available. We really can’t sit here and do nothing,” the Magistrate stated.
As a result, the court officially recorded that both Clairmont Mingo and Carol Smith-Joseph had declined cross-examination.
However, Magistrate McGusty noted that their attorneys, including Darren Wade, who was also absent, could later apply to recall the witness if they provided sufficient justification.
The court was also informed that one defendant, Roxanne Myers, was absent due to a slip and fall, while others, including Keith Lowenfield and Volda Lawrence, were unwell.
Despite these challenges, Magistrate McGusty emphasised that the matter could not remain idle, as the prosecution had several witnesses prepared for cross-examination.
The trial is scheduled to resume today (Wednesday, October 22, 2025) at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Those facing charges include former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers, former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Health Minister Volda Lawrence, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member Carol Smith-Joseph, and former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) staffers 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, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhanie, argued that each defendant played a “critical role” in the deliberate effort to inflate votes for the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) and reduce votes for the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (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.