GEORGETOWN, Guyana– The winner of the Miss Amerindian Heritage queen pageant, Amber Andrews, said she felt embarrassed and “publicly humiliated” after she was stripped of the crown less than 24 hours after being declared the winner last Saturday.
Andrews, who represented Moraikobai, the Amerindian village in Mahaica-Berbice, was later told that the person adding up the scores in last Saturday’s pageant did so incorrectly.
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which organizes the pageant, later announced that the winner was Kristie Emma Rambharat from Region Seven and made no apology to Andrews over the controversy.
It said that the judges’ score sheets “were tabulated incorrectly by the Tally Clerk, which resulted in erroneous figures” and that the final scores were tabulated based on a compound scoring system, which included tabulating the total scores for the six segments plus the last question.
After a “thorough and accurate investigation” and auditing of the judges’ score sheets, the Ministry said Ms. Rambharat was found to have scored 768 points and thus is the new queen. As per the audit, the scores released by the Ministry put Ms. Andrews tying for the fourth position with the delegate from Region Six, adding that the pageant continues to serve as a platform for the empowerment of young Amerindian women across the length and breadth of Guyana.
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs did not say if another crowning ceremony would be held for the queen but said there would be a prize-giving ceremony on Monday.
However, in a Facebook post, the former winner said she was as shocked as everyone else and spoke of the “emotional damage” and that what transpired after she was crowned was no fault.
“It is an embarrassment. I was publicly humiliated. NO ONE deserves this,” she wrote on her Social media page.
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