Elections’ fraud case to be tried summarily – Chief Magistrate (ag)

Jan 15, 2025 News

Kaieteur News– The 2020 elections fraud case will be tried summarily, Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty ruled on Monday.

During proceedings at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate McGusty explained to both the prosecution and the defence that the decision to proceed summarily—allowing the defendants to enter a plea—was based on the considerable delay in the case, which was brought to court in 2021.

“It is the opinion of this court that it is within the public interest for this matter to be proceeded summarily rather than indictably, given the time it has already spent before the court,” she stated adding that her decision was also made in the interest of the defendants as she did not want “this matter hanging over their heads for an extended period in the future.”

Magistrate McGusty also acknowledged that the previous magistrate, Senior Magistrate Leroy Daly, had ruled to proceed with the trial summarily at an earlier stage, and that this decision was not “manifestly wrong.” However, she reminded both the defence and prosecution that the court was not bound by a previous ruling made by another court at the same level.

“I know that, of course, this court is not bound to follow a decision made by another court at the same level,” McGusty explained while noting that “the court had to look at whether or not that court decision would have been manifestly wrong. I do not believe that my sister magistrate’s decision to proceed with the matter at that time summarily was manifestly wrong.”

Acting Chief Magistrate, Faith McGusty

She emphasized the courts’ intention to expedite the case and avoid further delays in the administration of justice. By proceeding summarily, the trial will be conducted directly by the Magistrate, which may help reduce procedural delays. She also noted that if the court were to proceed with an indictable approach, each charge would need to be dealt with separately, which could prolong the process.

In such a scenario, the case would be sent to the High Court after preliminary inquiries and sufficient evidence is provided.

The defence team, led by Nigel Hughes was in favour for an indictable trial, while Special Prosecutor Dharshan Ramdhani KC (King’s Counsel) advocated for a summary trial.

At the last court hearing in December, Magistrate McGusty ruled that the case would start afresh in 2025. With the procedural decision now made, the trial is scheduled to begin on February 17, 2025, at 13:00hrs, with additional hearings on February 18 and 19, 2025, and further hearings planned for March 2025.

The case involves nine defendants facing 19 charges of conspiracy related to the March 2020 General and Regional Elections. The accused include former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; former Returning Officer for District Four Clairmont Mingo; former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers; former Minister of Health Volda Lawrence; APNU+AFC’s Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith Joseph; and former GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Liven, Michelle Miller, and Denise Babb-Cummings.

The charges allege that between March 2 and August 2, 2020, the accused conspired to manipulate the results of the 2020 elections at the Ashmins’ Building in Georgetown, defrauding the electors of Guyana.

(Elections’ fraud case to be tried summarily – Chief Magistrate (ag))

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2020 elections fraud case, Chief Elections Officer, Defence, Guyana Elections Commission, prosecution, Special Prosecutor Dharshan Ramdhani

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