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GECOM Chair a no-show for cross-examination by Nigel Hughes at elections COI
Kaieteur News – Despite being scheduled for cross examination on Wednesday, Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, was a no-show at the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the March 2020 Regional and General Elections.
Justice Singh was listed among witnesses who were set to face a series of questions from Nigel Hughes, the lawyer for former Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers, in relation to their testimonies implicating Myers in the elections mayhem before the elections COI committee.
However, when the hearing was ready to commence, Justice Singh was absent and Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) explained to Mr. Hughes that the GECOM Chair did not implicate Myers in her testimony.
Hughes was told that his questioning of witnesses should be limited to those who implicated his client.
GECOM Chairperson (Ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh
The lawyer, however, explained that Justice (Ret’d) Singh, in her testimony, indicated that Mr. Gunraj had accused Ms. Myers of blocking him from entering sections of the Command Centre. But the Commission said it is for Mr. Gunraj to respond to those allegations and not the GECOM Chair.
GECOM Commissioner Gunraj is now expected to reappear before the Elections COI today at 10:00hrs.
In the meantime, Hughes was given the opportunity to cross examine GECOM’s IT Manager, Aneal Giddings.
While under cross-examination, he admitted that he removed the Secretariat’s server from the Region 4 Regional Command Centre on March 5, 2020, and placed it into his personal car despite the fact that there were several vehicles belonging to the Commission in the compound at the time.
Hughes asked whether his actions were in keeping with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), Mr. Giddings said” the SOP does not clearly state where the server or data should be placed.”
However retired Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, sought to stop the line of questioning by enquiring whether, Mr. Giddings was on trial. The former Chancellor is among the three Commissioners presiding over the COI.
“The issue remains the same, has Mr. Giddings said anything implicatory of Ms Myers. If he did, put it to him, let’s hear what he has to say,” Commissioner Singh said.
Mr. Hughes, nevertheless, argued that he was placing the issues into context. Based on previous testimonies before the Commission, Myers has been accused of breaching GECOM’s SOPs.
On Tuesday, Hughes was granted permission to cross-examine at least six witnesses including Justice Singh and GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj when he appeared at the COI alongside his client.
When Myers took the stand at the COI, she invoked her right to remain silent as she is currently facing charges in relation to elections fraud in the Magistrates’ Court, where Hughes is also representing her.
Based on previous testimonies before the Commission, Myers attempted to evacuate the District Four Command Centre of observers and party agents by using her influence over other key elections officials and members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Edgar Thomas who was in charge of police operations in Region Four during the 2020 elections, during his testimony on November 4, 2022, claimed that former Police Commissioners Leslie James and Nigel Hoppie were bent on carrying out Myers’ instructions days after the March 2, 2020 elections.
Thomas said Myers was most aggressive in her attempt to order the officers to evacuate the building where the vote count for Region Four was being tabulated. It was reported that Myers was among a group of elections officials accused of attempting to fraudulently change the results of Region Four.
- Commission of Inquiry, Guyana Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, Nigel Hughes, Roxanne Myers’
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