By Feona Morrison

Copyright guyanachronicle

THE elections fraud trial continued on Thursday before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, with Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson giving sworn testimony about his experience during the controversial tabulation and verification of votes for Region Four in the March 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Led into evidence by prosecutor Attorney-at-Law Latchmie Rahamat, Ramson recalled key events surrounding the actions of then Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, on March 5, 2020, at the Ashmin’s Building, where the vote verification exercise was being conducted.

According to Ramson, he personally saw Mingo with what appeared to be documents in his hand as he entered an office that day. “I saw Clairmont Mingo, and he walked and went into an office with what appeared to be documents in his hands,” Ramson testified.

He explained that about an hour later, the course of the process abruptly shifted. “So, I was on the ground floor where they were doing the verification exercise, and a gentleman by the name of Joseph Eastman, who worked for GECOM [Guyana Elections Commission], came into the room and said that the declaration for Region Four had just been made and we were required to leave the room immediately.”

Mingo, according to him, had made the purported declaration.

Ramson said election observers, representatives of political parties, and possibly some GECOM staff were present, though he admitted he could not recall everyone in detail.

He noted that the announcement triggered immediate concern. “I, along with other persons, made our objections known. But what I saw shortly after was what was purported to be a declaration for Region Four circulating on social media,” he stated.

Asked by Prosecutor Rahamat why he objected, the minister was clear: “Because I know that the verification exercise was not completed, and I also know what the law said — that it was required to be done to ascertain [the number of votes] based on the Statements of Poll (SoPs). So, if that had not been done, then a declaration cannot be made.”

He recounted that once he saw the declaration circulating, he moved to take formal action. “I prepared a letter requesting a recount. I signed the letter and sought to deliver it to where Mr. Mingo would have gone on the second floor. So, I went up the stairs to deliver the letter, but the office was locked. All the handles from the doors were removed. I was rapping and pushing on the doors, and the doors would not open. I also sought to deliver the request to the Chairperson of GECOM, retired judge Claudette Singh. It was unsuccessful because all the doors’ handles were removed.”

The minister emphasised that the situation was highly unusual. He stressed: “The handles for the doors on the second floor were removed from the outside so no one could turn the handles.”

When Prosecutor Rahamat pressed him on why it was so important to persist in delivering the letter, Ramson offered a passionate explanation. “Because we had to protect our democracy. Our country should never face the hardships that go with having a rigged election and an unelected government. I’ve seen across the world how that damaged many countries, and I also saw how it damaged Guyana in the late 1980s. There is a direct correlation between having an unelected government through a rigged election and the fortunes and well-being of the country. I didn’t want to see that happen for us as a country.”

Ramson testified that the standoff continued for hours. “About two hours after, medical personnel came. They were also rapping on the doors and waiting for someone to open them, but they were unsuccessful. They were there for a good 20 minutes, or maybe more. A number of persons, including Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and Mark Phillips (now Vice-President and Prime Minister, respectively), began coming upstairs, expressing their concerns for the well-being of the chairperson. They were banging on the door, and eventually they were able to get one of the doors to open.”

During the course of his testimony, Ramson was also asked whether he had observed members of the then-incumbent A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition at the time when Mingo appeared on the balcony of the Ashmin’s Building holding documents. “No, I didn’t see anyone of APNU+AFC. However, I did see Volda Lawrence and James Bond, who were candidates for the APNU+AFC. I saw them shortly after the purported declaration was made, going up to the second floor of the Ashmin’s Building.”

Lawrence is one of the nine defendants facing electoral fraud charges.

Around 18:00 hours that day, Minister Ramson said he saw Mingo surrounded by police, walking quickly toward the back of the building and then exiting.

Ramson said he called out for Mingo, knowing that his duty was to deliver the recount request.

Despite his efforts, he testified that he was unable to deliver the letter and was informed that he had to leave the building, or risk being arrested.

According to him, he told the police that the SoPs were on the ground floor and expressed his concerns about their security and who would take custody of them.

Once he was assured by the police that election observers and two representatives from each political party would be allowed to remain to monitor the SoPs, Ramson said he left for home but continued to stay updated on the situation at the Ashmin’s Building.

He said he returned to the Ashmin’s Building the next day to deliver the letter to Mingo. He testified that the area was heavily barricaded and, as he approached, he observed that the entire building was closed. He eventually met Roxanne Myers, to whom he explained the reason for his visit. He said Myers told him that Mingo was not there, but that his clerk would receive the letter requesting the recount. Ramson said he then left the letter with Michelle Miller, Mingo’s clerk, who is also facing charges.

Thereafter, he faced cross-examination by various defence lawyers.

BACKGROUND

Ramson’s testimony adds to the growing body of evidence being presented in the ongoing election fraud proceedings, which centres on allegations of attempts to manipulate the results of the 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana. The matter is scheduled to continue when the trial resumes today before Acting Chief Magistrate McGusty.

Those facing charges 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 Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller.

They collectively face 19 charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud to misconduct in public office. Each has pleaded not guilty and secured bail.

The defence team—comprising Nigel Hughes, Dexter Todd, Darren Wade, Ronald Daniels, and Anderson—has sought to cast doubt on prosecution witnesses.

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

Initial results announced by Lowenfield had declared an APNU+AFC victory, with 171,825 votes to the PPP/C’s 166,343.

But after five months of court battles and a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-supervised recount, the PPP/C was declared the winner with 233,336 votes to APNU+AFC’s 217,920, leading to Dr Irfaan Ali being sworn in as president on August 2, 2020.

The fallout from the disputed process prompted GECOM to terminate the contracts of Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo in August 2021.