Mingo charged

Controversial Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo, on Saturday, was slapped with four charges in relation to allegations that he committed fraud during the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Mingo is expected to appear in court on Monday. Mingo has been accused of attempting to alter the March 2 elections results in favour of the APNU+AFC Coalition.

His attempts to alter the results of the elections led to the national recount exercise, which ultimately proved the significant differences in the figures being called by the RO compared to the actual numbers of votes cast.

The Guyana Police Force had noted it has launched a “comprehensive investigation” into allegations of criminal conduct by Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, and RO of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, in relation to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and the events that followed.
Lowenfield is already facing criminal charges in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court relating to fraud, misconduct in office and breach of the public’s trust by providing results of the March 2 elections which he knows to be false.

Also in police custody as investigations continue into electoral fraud are IT technician, Enrique Livan, and three assistants of the RO Clairmont Mingo.
The four persons are being represented by Attorney Eusi Anderson and they remain in custody.

Mingo was, on Tuesday last, arrested after court marshalls had been looking for him to serve a warrant for his arrest on criminal charges; charges which were filed by a private citizen, but he’d somehow managed to give them the slip for weeks.

The charges at reference were filed in March by Charles Ramson Jr. not just against Mingo, but PNC/R Chair, Volda Lawrence, as well, alleging they all had to do with the controversial results for District Four.

On Monday last, Mingo did not appear in court as was expected, but Lawrence did, and she was placed on $100,000 bail after appearing before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, on private criminal charges, including conspiring to forge documents to show a win for APNU+AFC at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.

The charge against Lawrence states that she conspired with persons to forge 24 documents to show a fraudulent win.
Lawrence is also charged with ‘procuring’ Mingo to, on or about March 4, 2020, at Hadfield and High Streets, Georgetown to undertake this task.
She is also charged with uttering to the Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, a Form 24 Representation of the People Act Regional Elections Return dated March 5, 2020, knowing same to be forged, with intent to defraud the people of the State of Guyana.
Lawrence is expected to return to court on September 11.