Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has described the delays in the election fraud trial as an “orchestrated attempt”.
He expressed concern that another national election is approaching and “we do not have a determination yet for fraud charges that arose out of elections four years ago”.
The election fraud trial which commenced on July 29 and was scheduled to end on September 13, has faced several delays.
The last delay lasted for 30 days after the presiding magistrate Leron Daly proceeded on sick leave.
The matter was scheduled to resume on today but it was again delayed as the magistrate remains on sick leave.
It is now adjourned to October 31.
During his programme “Issues in the News”, the Attorney General bemoaned the various delays in getting the trial started and now, the current delays.
“Finally when we felt that the way was paved for the trial to begin and proceed with some level of alacrity, though delayed, we are now confronted with a series of adjournments,” Nandlall said.
He reminded of “the way different magistrates have been shifting these cases, in my view, in a clear attempt not to hear these cases” and recalled the intervention of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to write the chancellor to assign a magistrate to allow an expeditious trial.
“Now we are where we are,” Nandlall expressed, noting that these cases are of grave public importance.
“They are cases of national importance. The conduct of the persons who have been charged and who are before the courts struck at the very foundation of the democratic process of this country. That conduct attempted to alter the will of the people as expressed by their ballots. That conduct sought to derail the democratic elections of this country. It sought to have a different government in place instead of one elected by the people. These are not ordinary, run of the mill cases. In any other democracy, the judiciary would have accorded the highest priority to cases of this type, unfortunately in Guyana, that is not the position,” Nandlall noted.
According to Attorney General, “the judiciary must act and act quickly to reprieve its credibility in this matter.”
He added that every Guyanese should be concerned with the current state of affairs, noting that “the duty lies with the judiciary to arrest the situation and to do so with every convenient speed.”
The Attorney General also clarified that he is not attacking the judiciary.
“It is my duty and part of my portfolio to speak out on these matters even if i have to make outspoken comments,” he noted.
“I do so, however, respectfully and I do so without attributing any ill or ulterior motives to members of the judiciary,” he added.
Nine persons are before the court in relation to electoral fraud. They are former Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo; former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; his former Deputy, Roxanne Myers; former People’s National Congress/ Reform (PNCR) Chairperson Volda Lawrence; PNCR activist Carol Smith-Joseph; and GECOM employees Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Michelle Miller and Denise Babb-Cummings.
