On the same day that he should have been released from Police custody after being held 72hrs for questioning, the Guyana Police Force opted to file criminal charges against the Election Returning Officer for Region 4, Clairmont Mingo.
Mingo should have been released just after 2pm today but his Attorney was informed that a decision has been taken to file charges against him and therefore he will remain in custody.
Attorney Darren Wade told News Source that he was not provided with any other information and is unaware of the charges that have been filed against his client.
Mingo was held last Tuesday for questioning into allegations of electoral fraud at the March elections. He has been in custody since then.
On Friday, the High Court indicated that once the 72 hours of him being in custody expires, he should lodge his passport and report to the Police daily as the probe continues.
The Attorney said the Police have refused to accept the man’s passport but maintained that they would be keeping him in custody.
Wade said he believes the direction of the Court is being flouted and it is clear that there is some direction behind Mingo being kept in custody.
He has approached the Court again seeking his client’s release.
The investigation is linked to Mr. Mingo’s first declaration of tabulated results for Region Four during the March elections.
Immediately after his declaration, several political parties and observers questioned the authenticity of the numbers and that led to a national recount which went on for over a month.
Mingo was not part of the recount and it was the recount numbers that were used to declare the final results of the elections and resulted in a change in government. Had the Mingo declarations been used, there might have been a re-election.
The national recount also found a series of anomalies in other parts of Region Four, which the APNU+AFC intends to use for its election petition case, since the coalition believes the anomalies were enough to change the outcome of the elections.
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