Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty will rule on the 30th December, on whether or not the elections fraud case should start afresh, now that she has taken over the matter from City Magistrate Leron Daly, who fell ill shortly after the criminal trial commenced in July. 

The trial into the alleged attempt to commit fraud during the 2020 Elections commenced on July 29, 2024. However, it was adjourned after just three days as the Prosecution raised repeated concerns over the omission of certain “evidence” that were deemed inadmissible by the then Magistrate. At the time, only two witnesses had testified before the Court – Minister of Local Government Sonia Parag and Head of the Diaspora Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rosalind Rasul. 

It was during the adjournment that Magistrate Daly fell ill. 

Today, the Prosecution and the Defense addressed the legal issue of restarting the trial from the beginning.

Special Prosecutor, Darshan Ramdhani told the Court that such orders are often granted by the High Court, and the case currently before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court does not require a complete restart of the case. 

The Special Prosecutor submitted that the Acting Chief Magistrate can simply recall the witnesses and proceed to hear the evidence. 

“Let them go through the evidence again, and the matter continues. So, the question of de novo, which is a technical term that requires an order, that question does not arise in these proceedings,” the Special Prosecutor explained. 

Further, he said were the Court to disagree with the Prosecution, it should then proceed with a summary trial. 

“If it is for a moment that you want consider that we are not right, we say this is the case in which the court should not do anything but carry out a summary trial in these proceedings,” he said. 

Ramdhani said this would be the most reasonable course for the Court to adopt and embark on. He said the other legal issues should not be revisited. 

He reminded the Court that it is now more than three years since the charges were filed, and as such all of the cases should be heard simultaneously.

 Defense Attorney, Nigel Hughes objected to the arguments put forward by the Prosecution, telling the Court that the case must start anew. 

“De novo is as it says, it has to go back to the start, as if the charge had just been read and no election had been made in relation to whether the matter should go indicatable or summary,” Hughes said while relying on his written submission. 

The Acting Chief Magistrate upon haring the brief arguments, announced that her decision would be handed down at 10am on Monday, December 30. 

The defendants in the matter are former Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield; former Deputy Chief Election Officer, Roxanne Myers; and former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, along with Opposition Member of Parliament, Volda Lawrence, People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Member Carol Smith-Joseph; and Election Officers Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings and Michelle Miller.

They are facing 19 conspiracy charges relating to an alleged attempt to declare fraudulent results during the 2020 Elections. They have all declared their innocence.

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