Handwriting expert links Lawrence’s signature to disputed 2020 election document

A prosecution handwriting expert testified in court on Wednesday that signatures attributed to former government minister Volda Lawrence on passport applications match a signature appearing on a disputed Form 24 election document from the March 2020 elections.

The evidence relates to disputed Region Four declarations, which were central to the controversy over figures that would have placed the then-governing APNU+AFC coalition ahead of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

Those figures were not reflected in the results declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) following the national recount. The final recount results gave the PPP/C 233,336 votes and APNU+AFC 217,920 votes, with the PPP/C securing 33 seats and APNU+AFC 31.

Lawrence, a former government minister and former chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), served as an APNU+AFC counting agent during the March 2020 elections. She is among several defendants facing charges arising from the disputed tabulation and declaration of the election results.

Handwriting expert Ameer Mohamed, who was accepted by the court as an expert witness, said he examined signatures attributed to Lawrence on passport applications from 2010, 2015 and 2020 and compared them with a signature appearing on the disputed Form 24 document.

Asked whether the signatures matched to the best of his ability, Mohamed answered in the affirmative.

His findings were challenged during cross-examination by defence attorney Nigel Hughes, who questioned the methodology used and pressed Mohamed to identify the specific handwriting characteristics supporting his conclusion.

Mohamed said his analysis considered features including hooks, loops, peaks, letter drag, connectivity between letters and line quality.

Hughes focused on Lawrence’s 2010 passport application and two disputed Form 24 documents relating to the 2020 General and Regional Elections. He questioned the basis for Mohamed’s conclusion that the signatures were consistent.

At one point, Hughes asked the expert to identify a particular “hook” used in the comparison. Mohamed acknowledged that the feature had not been specifically marked on his analysis chart but maintained that a hook could be observed in the letter “V”.

Hughes, who had initially been conducting his cross-examination virtually, later arrived at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and continued questioning Mohamed in person.

Mohamed’s examination also involved documents bearing signatures attributed to former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield and accused Carol Smith-Joseph.

The prosecution also called Nigel Steven, whose testimony addressed the chain of custody of documents examined by Mohamed. Steven described his handling and collection of documents, including those uplifted on behalf of Lowenfield, and how they were subsequently provided to Mohamed for analysis.

Earlier, former government minister Robeson Benn briefly returned to the witness stand for cross-examination. He was questioned about whether he was aware of allegations that Lowenfield had changed or inflated election figures.

Benn did not immediately answer the question, and Magistrate McGusty excused him from the witness stand. The magistrate indicated that Benn would be recalled at a later date to continue his cross-examination.

The trial continues before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.