Opposition’s feathers ruffled after being called out for historic electoral rigging attempts

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-Dr Jagdeo says he did not attack judiciary, magistracy WITH integrity being one of the key pillars of a just and equitable legal system, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has stood by his statements, that it is fundamental to have consistency within the legal landscape. Dr. Jagdeo, in his capacity as the PPP General Secretary and a citizen of Guyana, has emphasised the importance of impartial judicial decisions devoid of personal biases or external pressures. During his press conference at Freedom House on Thursday, he took the opportunity to refute the Opposition’s allegations that he had criticised the judiciary.

The recent sentiments expressed by the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, further reinforce Dr. Jagdeo’s statements, highlighting that the judiciary is not exempt from the law and exists to serve the public. The General Secretary of the PPP has made remarks that echo the sentiments of citizens who are increasingly frustrated by the continued delays in the electoral fraud trial. For context, the electoral fraud trial concerning Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections, proceedings have been postponed until next month due to Magistrate Leron Daly’s prolonged illness. The trial, which was set for its fourth hearing on Wednesday, August 7, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, has faced numerous delays since commencing last week. Unfortunately, the magistrate’s continued ill health has necessitated further postponement, with new documentation for sick leave submitted on Tuesday.

King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani, representing the State, confirmed that the matter has been rescheduled for September 17. The last hearing took place on Wednesday, July 31, when Ramdhani raised concerns over excluded evidence in the case. Magistrate Daly had adjourned the trial to August 5 to allow a thorough review of the evidence and court records. However, due to the magistrate’s illness, the hearing was first postponed to August 7, and now further delayed.

The defendants in the case include People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) activist, Carol Smith-Joseph; former Health Minister, Volda Lawrence; former Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy CEO, Roxanne Myers; and GECOM staffers Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Babb-Cummings, and Michelle Miller. They face 19 conspiracy charges related to alleged electoral fraud.

The PPP General Secretary’s public scrutiny of how the electoral fraud trial is being handled was picked up by the Opposition, who labelled his justified comments as an attack. In response to this accusation, Dr Jagdeo stated that the Opposition has become irritable since he disclosed their history of how they treated the judiciary and state institutions overall. Last week, he highlighted how the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has a long history of subverting the professionalism of institutions and he pointed to the electoral rigging that was done by the party. It has been widely reported that the former President and PNCR Leader, Forbes Burnham, in a coalition with the small opposition United Force, snatched political power from the PPP in the 1964 elections and the PNCR remained in office through rigged elections until 1992.

Dr. Jagdeo then highlighted the various ways in which the party used state institutions to manipulate the voting process. He also spoke of the role of the military and judiciary during this dark period for Guyana. The PPP General Secretary outlined his fear, which is that this electoral fraud trial might have to go to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) just like the previous case that regarded the 2020 General and Regional Elections. Further, he noted that even in larger countries such as the United States of America (USA), there is public scrutiny of the judiciary by a number of congressmen, or other high-ranking officials; however, that is not seen as an attack on the judiciary but as an open society. “Our position as a political party and the government in terms of respect for the independence of the judiciary is unmatched in Guyana and the same people who sought to undermine the independence of the judiciary now conveniently complain…I’m concerned about the delay and look again now we have another delay,” Dr Jagdeo then explained.

The PPP General Secretary later said: “These individuals have been charged several years, almost four years, and we can’t even get to the trial.” It is alleged that between March 2, 2020, and August 2, 2020, Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo, while in Georgetown, conspired with the other six defendants and others to defraud the electorate by declaring a false account of the votes cast. Among other things, it is alleged that the defendants inflated or facilitated the inflation of results for Region Four, the country’s largest voting district, to give the APNU+AFC coalition a majority win at the March 2020 polls, when, in fact, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had won by over 15,000 votes.

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Opposition’s feathers ruffled after being called out for historic electoral rigging attempts

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