In one of Burnham's first acts upon independence, he passed a sweeping "National Security Act", permitting unrestricted search-and-seizure powers and the ability to detain individuals for up to 90 days without trial. and would likely support Jagan's PPP, making a fair election nearly impossible to win for Burnham. In 1967, Burnham stated that "overseas vote figures could be manipulated pretty much as he wished". Burnham later stated that he would "identify and register all Guyanese of African ancestry in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States in order to get their absentee votes in the next election", and suggested that Indo-Guyanese living abroad may have trouble getting registered or receiving ballots.
1968 general election The PNC attained a majority government in the
general elections of 1968 through electoral fraud, using an inflated "overseas vote" to skew the results in their favour. The PNC won 93.7% of the 36,745 overseas ballots, allowing Burnham to claim an absolute majority. An independent review by the Opinion Research Centre of London was only able to verify 15% of the entries on the overseas list. The Agriculture Minister declared that the inhabitants' land ownership certifications would no longer be recognized and the zone would be occupied by the
Afro-Guyanese population. A provisional
secessionist government was declared and attacks on
Lethem began. The uprising was ultimately quelled by the
Guyana Defence Force (GDF). In 1969, following the establishment of
Camp Tigri by Surinamese authorities, the
Guyana Defence Force would take Camp Tigri and assert authority over the
Tigri Area. Guyana continues to hold the camp despite a 1970 agreement to withdraw military forces.
Establishment of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana Before 1970, Burnham mostly pursued
moderate political policies. and the
Soviet Union (17 December 1970) and a strong relationship with
North Korea. In 1969, as noted by one study, Burnham “declared his dissatisfaction with the free enterprise system and his willingness to embrace Marxism/Leninism.” On 23 February 1970, he declared Guyana a "co-operative republic". The protocol was not renewed after 12 years.
Membership of the Non-Aligned movement Burnham, after attending the 1970 summit of the
Non-Aligned Movement in
Lusaka,
Zambia, paid official visits to several African countries—Zambia,
Uganda,
Kenya,
Tanzania and
Ethiopia—over the period 12–30 September 1970. The Guyanese government remained fully involved in the African liberation movement throughout the 1970s. In 2014
Joseph Hamilton, a former House of Israel priest, testified that the House of Israel committed "oppressive and terrorizing acts on behalf of the PNC."
1973 general election In the
1973 general election, Burnham received 70% of the vote and 37 of the 53 seats in the National Assembly. It is generally accepted that Burnham had significant untoward influence on the results of the elections, making them fraudulent.
Declaration of Sophia On 14 December 1974, Burnham issued the
Declaration of Sophia, stating that "the Party should assume unapologetically its paramountcy over the Government which is merely one of its executive arms." The Declaration also called for a transition to a socialist state, and a nationalisation of its economy. The declaration also led to the founding of the
Guyana National Service, a
paramilitary organisation under the control of the party.
1978 referendum The PNC government's five-year term was due to end in 1978, forcing a new election. On 1 April 1978, Burnham announced a referendum to allow the constitution to be changed by a 2/3 majority in parliament (which the PNC had) rather than a referendum. The opposition presented a united front against the referendum. During the campaign, the PNC terminated the contract of critical newspaper "the Catholic Standard" with a state-owned printing company, hampering their ability to distribute critical material. Advertisements for opposition parties were banned in state media, and violence was used to break up opposition meetings and gatherings. Public employees were forced to sign blank proxy forms allowing others to vote on their behalf. It was also noted that there were over 10% (65,000) more people on the electoral role than the United Nations estimate of the number of eligible voters. The opposition groups eventually urged the Guyanese population to boycott the referendum. Burnham won the
1978 referendum. There are anecdotal claims from hundreds of Indo-Guyanese (and Afro-Guyanese who were PPP supporters) that PNC enforcers aggressively, often violently, denied PPP supporters the opportunity to vote. Official figures showed the referendum passing with an implausible 97.9 percent of the vote.
Involvement in Jonestown On 18 November 1978, a total of 909 people of the
Peoples Temple died in a
mass suicide in
Jonestown. Burnham had previously allowed the group, led by
Jim Jones, to move to Guyana from
San Francisco, US, for the deaths. There are suggestions that Burnham's government participated in a
cover-up of the affair. Burnham's wife
Viola and his deputy prime minister
Ptolemy Reid were among the first to the scene, and may have returned from the massacre site with nearly
US$1 million in cash, gold and jewellery. One of Burnham's secretaries may also have visited Jonestown only hours before it occurred, a visit that was never explained.
1979 Fire, and murder of Bernard Darke In 1979, a fire destroyed many of the official government records, including official communications with the Peoples Temple. There is some speculation that the fire was started deliberately by Burnham's government, and there are reports that men in
Guyana Defence Force uniforms were seen running from the fire. During civil unrest after the fire and arrest,
Jesuit priest Bernard Darke was stabbed to death by members of the
House of Israel, a
religious cult closely associated with Burnham and his PNC party. Darke was associated with the
Catholic Standard, a newspaper described as being "extremely critical" of the PNC. == 1980–1985: President of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana ==