Region Four deputy returning officer says all her statements were signed
Another former presiding officer (PO) yesterday disassociated herself from a statement of poll (SOP) tendered in court and which bore a name and signature different from hers. And the first deputy returning officer (DRO) for Region Four to testify took the stand when the elections petition hearing continued before Justice Claudette Singh. Chandrowtie Singh, under cross-examination by Raphael Trotman, counsel for the petitioner, Esther Perreira, pointed out to the court that the SOP did not bear her name but was instead signed "J. Mohabir for the Presiding Officer". She denied authorising anyone to sign her SOP for her adding that the only Mohabir known to her at the time of the elections had been her DRO. It was to this DRO that Singh said she had taken her ballot boxes and other elections material (including a poll book and statement of poll signed by her) after the close of poll on Elections Day. The SOP signed by Mohabir was one of two SOPs for the general elections shown to Singh by Trotman, and the woman acknowledged that she had prepared the other one which bore her signature. Doodnauth Singh, SC, counsel for the Chief Election Officer (CEO) then re-examined the witness and had her compare the allocation of votes on both documents. After reading the results out, the witness conceded that they were identical. Laverne Pinto, the first of the Region Four DROs to be called, told the court that, during the course of her duties, she and her staff had monitored the 17 polling stations in her sub district of Robbstown, Bourda. Led by Doodnauth Singh, she produced a summary sheet which she said had been prepared based on the copies of SOPs which had been handed to her by the various POs. She was also able to produce copies of these 17 SOPs and these were subsequently tendered into evidence. She told the court that she had made these copies a few days after the elections. She said that it was her "custom" to always keep copies of any documents she submitted. However, Saphier Hussain, leader and counsel for the National Independent Party (NIP), told her during cross-examination that her testimony ran counter to that of Region Four Returning Officer Henry Europe. Europe, Hussain said, had previously testified that all documents handed to him by the various DROs had been forwarded and that he had no copies. Pinto, nevertheless, maintained that she had gone to Europe some days after the close of poll and received his assistance in photocopying the documents. She also recalled that after being handed SOPs by a PO, she had used a special code given to her as well as two telephone numbers to phone in these results. Pinto also faced cross-examination from Trotman, whom she told that all 17 of the SOPs in her district had been properly prepared and signed. As such, she concluded that it would not be true to say that a majority of SOPs had been missing, unaccounted for, or unsigned. She also said that she was aware that the Elections Commission had not announced the elections results for Georgetown until several days after the elections. She said that her understanding of the delay was that some persons had apparently been late in submitting their reports. The elections petition hearing will continue today and Trotman's associate Peter Britton, SC, is expected to continue to cross-examine Pinto. Britton and Trotman are representing Perreira who is challenging the 1997 elections on the grounds that the process was so flawed that it cannot be said to accurately reflect the will of the electorate.
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