Passport signatures tied to Lawrence and Lowenfield in 2020 election fraud trial
Immigration officers testified about passport records used to compare signatures linked to Volda Lawrence and Keith Lowenfield in Guyana's ongoing election fraud trial.
Handwriting expert links passport signatures to disputed 2020 election documents
Immigration officers were cross-examined at Georgetown Magistrates' Court on Monday over passport records central to the 2020 election fraud trial, einpresswire.com reports. The prosecution is working to establish that former People's National Congress Reform chairperson Volda Lawrence signed a disputed Form 24 declaration dated March 5, 2020.
A handwriting expert, Detective Inspector Ameer Mohamed, previously testified that he compared signatures bearing Lawrence's name on passport applications from 2010, 2015 and 2020 against the signature on the disputed declaration. That declaration was issued by then Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo. In Mohamed's expert opinion, the signatures appeared to share the same author.
Immigration officer Anneka Armstrong gave evidence about how Lawrence's passport applications were processed, confirming that two applications had been submitted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — one for a regular passport and one for a diplomatic passport. Lawrence was serving as Minister of Health at the time of the diplomatic passport application. Armstrong said she scanned the relevant documents and forwarded them to her supervisor in line with established procedure.
The Form 24 required the signatures of both the returning officer and a party representative. The prosecution is seeking to determine whether the signature bearing Lawrence's name on that document was genuinely hers.
Passport evidence relating to former Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield also featured in Monday's proceedings. Immigration officer Odessa Isaacs McCaulay identified a signature Lowenfield provided when applying for a replacement passport. She testified that he had signed on an electronic keypad in her presence and that the signature matched the one on his application.
McCaulay also addressed the requirement that passport applicants sign personally, rather than have another person sign on their behalf — testimony that established Lowenfield's passport signature as a valid comparison specimen.
The documents identified in connection with the Lowenfield comparison include his passport application, an affidavit regarding his lost passport, and three election-related documents dated July 10, July 11 and July 31, 2020. The July 10 document concerns a clarification request relating to an election report. The July 11 document covers the submission of the General and Regional Elections Report. The July 31 document pertains to the preparation and submission of a further election report.
The Form 24 declaration formed part of the disputed election process that preceded the eventual declaration of a PPP/C victory following the March 2020 general elections.
The prosecution's use of passport signatures as comparison specimens reflects its broader effort to establish the authorship of signatures on election-related documents. The expert's opinion constitutes evidence for the court to weigh, not a judicial finding that any particular person signed a disputed document. The assessment of that evidence remains a matter for the magistrate.
Cross-examination of the immigration witnesses was deferred to the next hearing as the prosecution continues presenting its case.
Source: Google News GY — Crime