THE high-profile election fraud trial continued on Friday before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where the prosecution presented video footage of a police interview with former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) staffer Michelle Miller.

Miller, who is among several former GECOM officials and political figures facing charges linked to the disputed March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections, repeatedly invoked her right to remain silent during questioning by police investigators.

At the start of the interview, a police rank explained the purpose of her presence, “[This is] a further interview in relation to an allegation of conspiracy to defraud contrary to common law in relation to the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

“It is alleged that on March 13, 2020, at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Headquarters, you conspired with Clairmont Mingo and others to give a fraudulent account of votes by calling out numbers from a spreadsheet instead of using a Statement of Poll, which resulted in A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) gaining inflated votes and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) votes were deflating.”

The officer then cautioned her, “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so but anything you say may be put into writing and given in evidence.”

When asked whether she had anything to say in relation to the allegation, Miller responded: “I reserve my right to remain silent.” Her silence continued throughout the exchange.

To questions about her whereabouts on March 13, whether she was employed with GECOM at the time, her functions at the headquarters, or whether she had received instructions from then Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo or former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, Miller’s answers remained consistent: “I reserve the right to remain silent.”

Investigators also told Miller that witness Sasenarine Singh had given a statement indicating that he saw her calling out numbers from a spreadsheet rather than from Statements of Poll (SoPs). To this, she again responded: “I request the right to remain silent.”

The interview ended with the police rank thanking Miller for her co-operation.

The trial will continue on October 21.

Miller is one of several defendants facing trial in relation to alleged efforts to manipulate the 2020 election results.

Those charged include former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers; former Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo; former Health Minister Volda Lawrence; People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member Carol Smith-Joseph; and former GECOM staffers Michelle Miller, Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, and Denise Babb-Cummings.

Together, they face 19 charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud to misconduct in public office. All have pleaded not guilty and remain out on bail.

The prosecution, led by King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, has argued that the defendants each played a “critical role” in attempts to inflate votes in favour of the then-incumbent APNU+AFC coalition while reducing votes for the PPP/C.

Initial results announced by Lowenfield had declared an APNU+AFC victory, with 171,825 votes against the PPP/C’s 166,343. However, after five months of litigation and a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-supervised recount, the PPP/C was declared the winner with 233,336 votes to APNU+AFC’s 217,920, paving the way for Dr. Irfaan Ali’s swearing-in as president on August 2, 2020.

The fallout from the election controversy led to the termination of Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo’s contracts at GECOM in August 2021.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the events of the 2020 General and Regional Elections have found that there were collusion and collaboration between senior 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 Lowenfield, Myers and 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,” they said in their report.