THE PPP is the only political party that has exercised political power in free and fair elections since Guyana attained political independence in 1966.

It will be recalled that two years after the country became independent, elections were held which were massively rigged to perpetuate the life of the PNC in office.

The PNC was catapulted to political office in the 1964 elections with the support of the United Force, which was unceremoniously kicked out of the coalition government a mere three years into the life of the coalition government, but not before the PNC took full control of the elections machinery.

The ‘elections’ of 1968, a mere two years after the granting of political independence, could be considered a watershed year in the political and electoral history of Guyana. It is a day that will be remembered with shame as the day when the will of the Guyanese electorate was subverted by a power hungry regime headed by Forbes Burnham.

Guyana experienced its first rigged elections, a first also in the entire Anglo-phone Caribbean. Whatever else can be said of the British Government, it never rigged elections by the seizure of ballot boxes and tampering with the vote in the colonies it had jurisdiction over.

This is not to suggest that they did not have a preference for one political party over the other. This was done through the restriction of the franchise and there were several instances of boundary manipulation or what is referred to as gerrymandering. And it must not be forgotten that the constitution was suspended in 1953 following a landslide PPP victory.

Forbes Burnham, during the 1960’s, was favoured over Cheddi Jagan by the United States of America mainly out of ideological consideration.

Burnham, though regarded by President Kennedy as a political opportunist, remained the preferred choice. The PPP was engineered out of office in 1964, a move which the United States was to later regret and which culminated in the rupture of diplomatic relations with Guyana a decade or so later.

It is ironic that the United States, which was responsible for the removal of the PPP from office in 1964, was largely instrumental in the restoration of democratic rule to the country some twenty eight years later. President Carter played a key role in that regard.

The story of Guyana’s post independence history is a story of struggle for democracy led by the PPP. All of Guyana won when the PPP/C won power on October 5, 1992. This democracy is still evolving and therefore cannot be tampered with or put in the wrong hands.

May 11 gives us all that opportunity to preserve our democracy and democratic governance. Let us vote wisely with the good of the country in mind.

HYDAR ALLY