19 persons including PPP commissioners handled SOPs before Lowenfield received them

(Kaieteur News) – New revelations surrounding the handling and security of Statements of Poll (SOPs) during Guyana’s contentious 2020 General and Regional Elections emerged in court, as former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Information Technology Manager Anneal Giddings faced cross-examination.

Testifying before Magistrate Faith McGusty, Giddings admitted under oath that 19 persons handled Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield’s SOPs before they were finally delivered to him, while disclosing gaps in written authorisation and server security protocols.

Under questioning by defence attorney Eusi Anderson, Giddings detailed the multi-layered chain of custody that preceded Lowenfield taking possession of the official records. Among those who interacted with the documents prior to their ultimate delivery were People’s Progressive Party (PPP) commissioners. To oversee the processing of the SOPs before Lowenfield’s access, Giddings acknowledged that he personally handpicked a specialised team. When pressed on the makeup of this self-selected group, Giddings confirmed that five of the seven team members were Indo-Guyanese.