Former Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Aneal Giddings, who served as the Guyana Elections Commission’s Information Technology Manager in 2020, admitted under cross-examination today that during the 2020 Elections, he removed a server from the Region Four Command Center in the Ashmin’s Building against the instructions of the then Deputy Chief Elections Officer, and with no authorization to do so.

Giddings returned to the witness stand for a second day as the 2020 Elections Case continued before Principal Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty following Monday’s resumption after a three month hiatus.

On Monday, the Court heard that on the 5^th March, 2020, Giddings removed the Election Commission’s server from the Command Centre during the tabulation process after he was informed by Police Officer Edgar Thomas that there was a bomb threat.

Thomas reportedly instructed Giddings along with other persons present at the time to evacuate the building, but Giddings said before he proceeded to the muster point on High Street he secured the server in his vehicle.

 As he was being cross-examined by Defense Attorney, Nigel Hughes today,  Giddings admitted that under the Representation of the People Act, he had no statutory responsibility for the server, explaining that then Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield was responsible for the security of the election’s equipment including the server.

He said at no time did the then Chief Elections Officer or the Deputy Chief Elections Officer instructed or authorise him to remove the server from the building.

Asked by Hughes to point to provisions within his contract that authorized him to remove the server, the former IT Manager said he could not.

“Might I suggest none exists,” Hughes suggested but Giddings disagreed, although telling the Court that it was “unfortunate” that he could not point to any specific document. 

Giddings told the Court that as he was removing the server, he informed the then Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Roxanne Myers that he was securing the server offsite and from all indication, she was not in approval.

Pressed for answers, Giddings admitted further that he took it upon himself to disobey the instructions of the then DCEO.

Hughes suggested to Giddings that there was no provision within the Laws and Regulations governing the Elections Secretariat that allowed him to disobey the instructions of his superior, to which he responded in the affirmative. He explained that there was an imminent threat to the server although admitting that despite the threat, persons had remained in the building.

The former IT Manager told the Court that at the time he was the only person with access to the server.

“You had an opportunity when that server was in the car and you were alone to access the server,” Hughes questioned, with Giddings responding in the negative.

It was explained that in order to access the server, alternating current (AC) power was required in addition to a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor. It was explained further that once there was a UPS the server could have been powered.

Hughes suggested, and Giddings agreed that it was possible for all those peripherals to be in his car long before he took the server there. However, he clarified that those items were not in his car at the time.

As Hughes suggested that Giddings stole the server, State Prosecutor Latchmie Rahamat objected, calling on the Court to inform Giddings that he has a right not to incriminate himself. Noting that the question was unfair, Rahamat said at no point did Giddings indicate that he had taken an item with the intention of permanently depriving the owner.

But Hughes did not stop there and suggested to the Court that Giddings stole the information from the server and replaced it with something else.

“What he stole was not the server, he stole the information that was on the server, that’s what he stole. He stole the information. He removed the information that was on the server and replaced it with something else, that is theft,” Hughes suggested to the Court.

He said nothing stopped Giddings from removing information from the server, and though Giddings agreed, he said he could not have placed information on the server without critical access and equipment.

Hughes also suggested to Giddings that he placed the server in his car, and then met with two other persons in the car park, before entering the car with them but the former IT Manager told the Court he could not recall.

Hughes is expected to present video evidence to the Court, when the case resumes tomorrow.

Nine persons including the former Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxane Myers and former Region 4 Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo are on trial for allegedly attempting to declare fraudulent results during the course of the 2020 elections.

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