The 2020 election fraud trial continued today before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where Registrar of the Supreme Court Sueanna Lovell testified, and several bundles of Statements of Polls (SOPs) were shown and tendered as exhibits.
During her testimony, Lovell told the court that among her duties as Registrar of the Supreme Court are maintaining custody of court records, court orders, and other official documents that come into her possession.
She explained that following the filing of election petitions after the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, then Acting Chief Justice Roxane George issued an order directing that the Statements of Polls and Statements of Recount from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) be transferred into her custody for safekeeping.
Lovell testified that former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield subsequently contacted her and arrangements were made for the transfer of the documents. She told the court that on January 27, 2021, Lowenfield, accompanied by GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh and other GECOM officials, delivered the documents to her office at the High Court in Georgetown.
According to Lovell, a verification exercise was conducted before the documents were handed over. She said after the documents were verified, she signed to acknowledge receipt while Lowenfield signed to confirm the handover.
The Registrar further testified that after receiving the documents, she secured them in two fireproof filing safes located in her office. She stated that the safes were protected by combination locks and keys, and that she was the only person with knowledge of the combinations.
Lovell also told the court that on May 28, 2021, another order was issued by Justice Roxane George directing her to make copies of the SOPs and SORs and provide them to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
As a result, copies of the documents were prepared, and on the following day police officers visited her office where they conducted another verification exercise comparing the originals with the copies.
On Wednesday, Lovell said she retrieved the original SOPs and SORs from the safes and brought them to court along with certified copies of the court orders. The documents were subsequently tendered and marked as exhibits.
During the afternoon session, the court was shown several bundles of SOPs which were also tendered into evidence.
Lovell is expected to continue her testimony on Friday.
Several individuals remain before the court in connection with the March 2020 General and Regional Elections, including former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, and former Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers.
Also charged are former PNCR Chairperson Volda Lawrence, PNCR activist Carol Smith-Joseph, along with GECOM employees Enrique Livan, Michelle Miller, Sheffern February, and Denise Babb-Cummings.
The accused face a total of 19 conspiracy charges stemming from allegations of attempts to manipulate the results of the March 2020 elections.
