On the three-year anniversary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government being sworn into office and more than two years after several of the key players behind those blatant attempts to steal the March 2020 elections were slapped with fraud charges, those cases continue to languish in the Magistrates’ Court.
During his weekly programme, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, S.C., expressed his dissatisfaction with the progress of these electoral fraud cases in the Magistrates’ Courts.
“The progress with those cases has been unsatisfactory, to say the least, and I can relate to [the public’s] frustration in respect to the progress or lack of progress being made with these cases,” Nandlall said.
Stemming from the March 2, 2020 elections, some 32 electoral fraud cases have been filed in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts against several political activists including APNU/AFC’s Volda Lawrence and GECOM officials including former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, his then Deputy Roxanne Myers and former embattled Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
Several GECOM staff were also charged and placed before the courts.
Most of these charges were filed since late 2020 and early 2021. The prosecution’s case is being led by Queen’s Counsel, Darshan Ramdhani.
According to the Attorney General, he has requested the special prosecutor, who is currently out of the country, to update the public on these cases upon his return. Ramdhani, Q.C., has also been instructed to compile a progress report to be submitted to the DPP.
“These are cases of national importance. They touch and concern issues of public importance, vital and crucial to law and order in this country, and to the democratic architecture of our nation. And you the people were following these events and you played a significant role in ensuring that the rule of law was maintained, that the will of the people prevail and that democracy was preserved and protected. And you are entitled, therefore, to an update because all of you – many of you called for these charges. You were outraged, and rightfully so, by what was done. And the charges, to the credit of the police, were instituted and placed before the magistracy. And that is where they’ve been. We’re now celebrating three years and they have not advanced in the manner that they should have,” the Attorney General stressed.
Only back in February of this year, AG Nandlall had written the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, for an update on these electoral fraud cases after expressing his concerns over the long delays.
