–Shuman defends intervention in 2020 Region Four tabulation

LIBERTY and Justice Party (LJP) leader and 2020 presidential candidate, Lenox Shuman told the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Monday that his intervention during the
disputed Region Four vote tabulation and verification at the Ashmin’s Building was driven by a duty to safeguard the electorate’s will in the face of attempted fraud.
Pressed by defence attorney Nigel Hughes on what authority gave him the power to pick up documents and intervene in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s process, Shuman replied: “The attempted fraud by the accused. To safeguard the electorate’s franchise.”
The accused Shuman referred to is Enrique Livan, who was GECOM’s IT officer at the time, and is now one of nine defendants facing multiple electoral fraud charges.
During the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, the Ashmin’s Building served as GECOM’s Command Centre, and housed the Office of the Returning Officer for Region Four.
When Hughes asked whether that authority came from “the Constitution of Guyana, RoPA [Representation of the People Act],” Shuman conceded, “Nowhere that I can read.”
But he insisted, “It is what any civic-minded person would do. Any civic-minded person would intervene when they see something is going wrong.”
Hughes then suggested that such conduct amounted to assuming a “God-given power.” Shuman replied, “I can’t say,” maintaining that his actions were not driven by personal authority but by concern for the electoral process.
The exchange came as Hughes cross-examined Shuman over his testimony that GECOM staffer Livan was engaged in suspicious activity during the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Shuman told the court that during the elections he reported to then Senior Superintendent of Police and Commander of Regional Division Four ‘A0’ Edgar Thomas that “something seemed off” about Livan, though he admitted he could not recall his exact words after five years.
“The complaint was that Mr. Livan was engaged in an activity outside of the tabulation room that was not in line with the instructions left by the then Chief Elections Officer Mr. [Keith] Lowenfield,” Shuman testified.
Hughes pressed him on whether this amounted to a criminal complaint. Shuman answered, “It was not a criminal complaint; it was a complaint.”
“So, you made a complaint to the police but it was not a criminal complaint?” Hughes asked.
“Correct,” Shuman responded.
The defence lawyer further questioned why Shuman entered a GECOM-controlled room and handled a pile of documents.
Shuman denied interfering with Statements of Poll (SoPs), stating, “I said a pile of documents, not SoPs,” and insisted he could not confirm whether they belonged to GECOM.
He admitted he “did not have the authority” to do so, but rejected Hughes’ suggestion that he acted out of entitlement as a presidential candidate.
Hughes then remarked, “You used to call them Nosey Parkers in the olden days.”
“I wouldn’t know that,” Shuman shot back.
The term Nosey Parker is an informal expression that refers to a person who is excessively curious about other people’s affairs.
Earlier in his testimony, Shuman recounted that when he arrived at the Ashmin’s Building on March 3, 2020, he observed repeated errors as Livan projected Region Four figures on a spreadsheet that did not match the SoPs held by political parties.
Shuman said objections were raised, but Livan—claiming fatigue—halted the process, left the room, and was later found in another area with the same laptop connected to a flash drive and printer. On the screen, Shuman said he saw what appeared to be a “pre-populated” spreadsheet of results before Livan quickly closed it.
The trial, which concerns allegations of efforts to manipulate Region Four’s results during the 2020 elections, continues today before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty.
Those facing charges include Carol Smith-Joseph of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, former Health Minister under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government Volda Lawrence, former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, and former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
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 People’s 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.