-As Elections Fraud Trial continues

-by Kimberly Giddings

Defence Attorney Nigel Hughes today failed to produce the promised video footage, which he said would show former GECOM IT Manager Aneal Giddings with a server in his vehicle at the Ashmin’s Building on March five, 2020.

He presented footage showing Anneal Giddings leaving the compound of Ashmin’s Building on the night of March five, 2020, however, the video did not show Giddings with the server.

Lead Prosecutor Darshan Ramdhani objected to the footage, arguing that it was irrelevant to the evidence Giddings gave during Tuesday’s cross-examination concerning the server he removed from the building during a bomb scare.

Ramdhani pointed out that Giddings was seen leaving the building with nothing in his hands before driving away.

Hughes told the court that he was not seeking to connect the video to his questions about the server and said he had a different purpose for presenting the footage.

He subsequently put to Giddings that he had removed Statements of Poll (SOPs) from the building, which Giddings denied.

Another video was presented showing Giddings inside the tabulation room with GECOM Data Administrator Paul Persaud on March 5, 2020.

Giddings identified Persaud and maintained that there was nothing illegal or unauthorised about his presence in the room.

Giddings recalled receiving a call from then Deputy Chief Elections Officer Roxanne Myers, who asked whether he was doing anything illegal. He said he told her that he was not.

He also denied having any regional SOPs, explaining that the SOPs he had were those belonging to the then Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield.

Giddings said he made a record of what he was doing and left it for Myers. He also said he informed Myers when he left the building and did not take any SOPs with him.

Earlier, Giddings testified that the server data had been backed up onto a flash drive because there was no independent backup software installed on the system.

He explained that he removed the server from the Ashmin’s Building during the bomb scare because he wanted to protect the data. As head of GECOM’s IT department, Giddings said he considered it his responsibility to safeguard the system and its data.

Giddings also testified that Myers told him, in what he described as an aggressive tone, to leave the server in the building despite the bomb scare. He nevertheless removed it and placed it in his vehicle, maintaining that he was protecting GECOM’s property.

Giddings further told the court that he informed GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh that he had removed the server. He said Singh later asked him to return it to the Ashmin’s Building after the building was deemed safe.

The matter continues tomorrow, Thursday September 16 with Giddings under cross-examination.