-For SOPs and SORs from 2020 elections

-by Nakasia Logan

The chain of custody for crucial electoral documents that are evident in the 2020 election fraud trial was maintained at the close of the day after Supreme Court Registrar Sueanna Lovell made her first appearance in the case.

As the custodian of critical documents from the 2020 election, including statements of poll (SOPs) and the statements of recount (SORs), hers is a vital role. These documents were presented in court before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty in five brown cardboard boxes. The court was told that the transfer of the documents was ordered by then Acting Chief Justice Roxanne George. 

The documents were officially escorted to the High Court by the Registrar in the presence of GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh and other key officials. The arrangement was made to ensure the preservation of the chain of custody. At a break in the case today, Attorney-at-Law for the Prosecution Latchmie Rahamat explained how the documents were kept secure since 2020. Those documents were kept in a possession.

“She said they’ve not been accessed by anyone else. And she brought them to court on today’s date together with two court orders. The court order that permitted her to be the custodian of those documents and a second court order that was also issued by Acting Chief Justice Madam Roxanne George that directed that those documents in her possession be copied and certified and handed over to the police. Those documents are currently being approved, verified and then tendered into evidence in the criminal proceedings,” she explained.

By the close of proceedings, the court had completed the review of documents for Districts 1 through 4. Proceedings in the elections fraud trial are set to resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday with witness Inspector Nigel Stephens and a focus on certified copies of the electoral documents tendered into evidence. Supreme Court Registrar Sueana Lovell will make her next court appearance on Friday.