Aug 01, 2020
While the criminal charges filed against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh were said to be private, information has revealed that it was prominent coalition-connected lawyers.
During a live broadcast on Facebook by A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition executive member, James Bond stated that attorney Maxwell Edwards is representing the three applicants.
Edwards has repeatedly been one of the administration’s go-to lawyers in various litigation over the past several years and an avid defender of the government in the newspaper letter columns. Most notably, he has repeatedly represented Attorney General (AG), Basil Williams from the No Confidence Motion case back in 2019 to the recently dismissed cross-appeal from Williams in the Misenga Jones appeal.
The private criminal charges were filed by Lorraine Joseph of 16 Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara; Onita Walcott of 25 Section B, Victoria Village East Coast Demerara; and Keith Ondaan of 2987 Central Amelia’s Ward, McKenzie Linden.
Bond was at the time, clearing the air on a recording that circulated on social media, purporting to be that of Walcott where she denied any knowledge of her name being used in the filing of criminal charges.
In the recording, the woman said “Duh is wuh I am telling you, I knows nothing about it.” The woman however then appeared on Bond’s live video and retracted the statement.
“I’m here to let you know that nobody forced me to do anything, nobody threatened me to do anything, whatever I did, I did it off my own,” Walcott told viewers.
Bond also said that he had helped Edwards to file the case and that if anyone wished to make contact with the woman or to get details on the case, they would have to do so through him or Edwards.
The charges of misconduct filed under the Common Law Act, alleged that the GECOM chair in the State of Guyana acted recklessly and unlawfully when she refused to accept the Chief Elections Officer’s report; disregarded the advice of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and breached the recount order in the Official Gazette. The case will be called on August 5, 2020 at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.