-prosecution says key evidence still ahead

Five years after the 2020 elections, the high-profile electoral fraud trial is now entering a critical phase, with the prosecution signaling that key evidence is still to come. Court transfers, procedural applications and the consolidation of multiple charges, repeated scheduling challenges have all contributed to what many observers have called a frustratingly slow process.

Prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani acknowledged the timeline, but pushed back on the perception of stagnation.

“From 2020 elections, March…we are [already] in March 2026. That’s five years. And so it’s not really that in trial because we had a lot of hiccups, quite a lot of applications, courts transferring the matter to other courts. We’ve come a far way during this year of actual trial so far. So we are proceeding, I think, steadily,” he said.

Prosecutors say they are now about halfway through their witness list with more than 20 key witnesses still to testify. In court this week, attention turned to defense’s strategy, challenging witness credibility rather than addressing the core allegations of incorrect vote tabulations and false declarations.

But the prosecution says the most critical evidence is still ahead, centered on the official statements of poll or SOPs. After high court battles, certified copies have been obtained and forensically examined. 

“So we have all of the SOPs, those SOPs, the copies, certified copies. And during next hearing dates, not necessarily this session, but in the months to come, we are going to be presenting all of that in trial to show what were the final numbers in the elections. I mean, we are not dealing with what people hear about in the public domain. We are dealing with evidence. And this, even though one might sit back and say, well, I know something or I think of something, we are presenting evidence in court. So we must give the magistrate everything that we believe is necessary for the magistrate to come to a finding in this case. That’s all the findings that we are asking. There are over 30 plus charges against these nine defendants,” he said.

 Those documents, prosecutors say, form the backbone of the case, providing verified records of the election results. The court continues to allocate significant time each month, with multiple hearing dates already fixed into June. The prosecution maintains it is prepared to proceed, with witnesses, documents and video evidence ready, as the case moves into what could be its most decisive stage.