Election Fraud Trial Reaches Guyana Elections Commission HQ Amidst Conflicting Witness Accounts

The Georgetown Magistrates’ Court stepped inside the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) High Street Office on April 30, 2026, as part of the ongoing trial over the controversial 2020 elections. This site is where the second declaration for District 4 was reportedly made by then Region 4 Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo on March 13, 2020.

Presided over by Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty, the court heard from three key witnesses: Education Minister Sonia Parag, former American Chamber of Commerce election observer Rosalinda Rasul, and former executive member of A New and United Guyana Jonathan Yearwood. The trio walked the court through the layout of the tabulation center, which had been relocated from the Ashmin’s Building to GECOM’s High Street location.

Defense attorney Dexter Todd, accompanied by Ronald Daniels, objected to the witnesses providing fresh evidence on site, arguing that the prosecution had failed to conduct a proper investigation early on. Todd criticized the police for not visiting the tabulation center promptly after the 2020 elections to capture accurate spatial details. Instead, witnesses were forced to rely on memory six years later, leading to what he called a "guessing game."

Todd emphasized the unfairness of allowing witnesses to reconstruct the scene so long after the fact, warning that the resulting testimony was riddled with inconsistencies. He pointed out that while Rasul and Yearwood’s accounts aligned somewhat on the location of key items like the projector and screen, Minister Parag’s recollections were “totally off” due to lack of prior detailed statements.

The court denied Todd’s request to cross-examine witnesses on site, citing the need to use courtroom recording equipment for accurate records.

State Prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat defended the site visit as crucial to helping the court understand the physical context of the tabulation process. Rahamat noted that the court must piece together differing eyewitness perspectives to reach a verdict. She insisted that all witness testimony given in court under oath, including their observations at the GECOM office, were officially on the record.

The hearing also featured testimony from Yearwood recounting an encounter with an APNU+AFC agent, Carol Smith Joseph, who is among the nine accused in the case alongside Mingo.

The trial continues on May 18, 2026, as the court works to untangle the disputed events that have cast a long shadow over Guyana’s electoral integrity. This case highlights ongoing challenges in holding elections accountable and the persistent efforts by some to undermine democratic processes years after the votes were cast.