Guyana 2020 election integrity trial

Legal proceedings regarding the 2020 Guyana General and Regional Elections have focused on the security of electoral data and the chain of custody for voting documents.

Former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) IT Manager Aneal Giddings testified that an election server remained secure during a bomb scare at the Ashmin’s Building, asserting it was password-protected and accessible only to himself and two senior technical staff. Forensic accountant Terrence Jaskaran also defended his analysis of District Four results, stating his report relied on certified Statements of Poll (SOPs).

Subsequent testimony highlighted concerns regarding the handling of these documents. Giddings admitted under cross-examination that he lacked written authorization to be alone with the SOPs for approximately four hours after tabulation was halted, though he claimed he had received verbal permission from then Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield. Opposition parties, including the PNCR and APNU, have argued that this lack of written directives and the absence of independent observers during that window compromise the chain of custody for the Region Four votes.