Prominent attorney among members of the public challenging APNU+AFC claims of irregularities on March 2nd

Another series of allegations from the APNU+AFC about irregularities at the March 2nd general elections has fallen apart after facing scrutiny yesterday.

The Coalition has repeatedly claimed that hundreds of persons who were not in Guyana on March 2 are recorded as having cast ballots but one of those persons identified yesterday turned out to not only be in Guyana on polling day but worked as an accredited local observer with the Guyana Bar Association on polling day.

Attorney at Law and accredited local observer Devindra Kissoon at the Enmore Community Development Centre on polling day. The APNU+AFC has identified Kissoon as one of hundreds of electors who had a ballots cast in their name while they were out of Guyana.

“I was in the jurisdiction, voted and observed the elections at several polling places including Bel Air Park, Campbellville Secondary School, Radha Krishna School, etc. I was also in the jurisdiction [during the tabulation] and acted as an attorney on record on the Holladar and Ulita Moore matters as co-counsel with Douglas Mendez,” Kissoon said in an invited comment.

The cases referenced relate directly to the abandoned District Four tabulation and the challenge to the first proposed National Recount.

He furnished this newspaper with an image of himself on polling day at the Enmore Community Development Centre where he for a time observed the voting.

In the Observation Report for Ballot Box 4497 Kissoon and four of his neighbours are alleged to have been out of the jurisdiction on polling day. The other four electors are elector number 24- Michelle Budbah, 89- Stuart Fraser, 93-Rukmin Fung-A-Fatt and 224-Indira Pyneandy.

Kissoon is not the only elector who has come forward to dispute allegations that their names were involved in electoral fraud.

Nishani Bissessar of Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo released to the public an “affidavit of existence and presence” in which she maintains that she was in the jurisdiction and cast a ballot at the Vergenoegen Primary School using her national identification card to identify herself.

Another elector Kumaria Singh has made public her passport which shows that she returned to Guyana on September 5, 2014 after leaving the country on August 15 of that year. According to information provided to the Commission by the Chief Immigration Officer, Singh did not return to Guyana before March 2, 2020.

Sydney Douglas Jones and Karishma Raghunandan have also come forward to state that they were in Guyana on March 2.

In a 54 second video released to media Jones states that he was in Guyana and cast his ballot in Diamond. Raghunandan in a similar video stated that she voted at the Covent Garden primary school.

Raghunandan is number 143 and Jones is elector number 145 on a list of 172 names the immigration department has submitted to the Chair-person of the GECOM, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh.

The information was submitted at the request of Singh who in a letter to the Police Commissioner, dated May 22nd 2019 stated that “The APNU/AFC is alleging that persons whose names and dates of birth appear on the list attached had migrated and could not have exercised their franchise on March 2, 2020.”

She goes on to request that the Commissioner “cause the Immigration Department to verify whether these persons were out of the country on March 2, 2020. The respective polling divisions and stations where these persons allegedly voted are also identified on the list.”

The Police Commissioner responded to Singh on May 27th and furnished her with a list of 172 persons, their dates of birth, and travel records.

“I refer to your letter dated May 22nd 2020 and forward herewith a report from the Deputy Chief Immigration Officer for your information,” the letter states.

Yesterday, following media reports which identified inaccuracies in the information provided to GECOM, the Guyana Police Force doubled down.

In a statement the GPF stressed that migration data produced by the Immigration Department of the Guyana Police Force is generated through its Record system which includes an Electronic Border Management System.

“This system however, does not record persons who travelled illegally,” they contended concluding that the Force stands by the information provided to GECOM.