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Guyana Involvement in Political Affairs
Until 1969 the GDF observed British military ethics, which held
that the armed forces should be loyal to the "government of the
day" and not otherwise involved in politics. Beginning in 1973, the
PNC regularly used the GDF to help it win every national election.
Because of irregularities in previous elections, the opposition
parties had argued that the ballots be counted in each electoral
district for the 1973 general election. However, the PNC insisted
that ballot boxes be taken to three designated counting centers. As
occurred in the 1968 elections, opposition members were not allowed
to accompany the ballot boxes to the counting centers. On July 16,
1973, election day, GDF personnel shot and killed two PPP members
as they protested the removal of ballot boxes from a polling
station. Throughout the country, the GDF and police were quick to
resort to force when removing ballot boxes from the electoral
districts.
Once they were collected, large numbers of ballot boxes were
quarantined at Camp Ayanganna for more than twenty-four hours with
no reason given. The PNC apparently had expected to receive a large
number of votes in its traditional Georgetown strongholds and
initially had allowed a fair count in districts there. When early
results showed a low voter turnout, the PNC called on the GDF to
intervene.
At the PNC's first biennial congress in 1974, the GDF was
required to pledge its allegiance to the PNC. During the 1970s and
1980s, GDF soldiers routinely received political indoctrination.
The GDF also scheduled marches to celebrate major PNC political
events, such as party congresses.
The PNC's increasing politicization and subordination of the
GDF disturbed many members of the officer corps. When some
expressed a desire for military neutrality, PNC informants in the
armed forces alerted Burnham to the dissension within the GDF. In
August 1979, Colonel Ulric Pilgrim, the operational force
commander, and Colonel Carl Morgan, a battalion commander, were
dismissed. Pilgrim and Morgan had been two of the most popular
officers in the GDF. Burnham appointed a PNC loyalist, Colonel
David Granger, commander of the GDF. To extend his influence
further, Burnham also replaced the army chief of staff Brigadier
General Clarence Price with a Burnham loyalist who had been a
civilian police officer. The appointment of Norman McLean, a former
traffic chief, shocked and enraged many GDF officers. The PNC
government attempted to rebuild support by issuing a postage stamp
in 1981 honoring the GDF.
The general election of December 1980, the first since 1973,
was severely criticized by international observers for its
irregularities. The security forces were spared blame, except for
the police detention on December 9 of Lord Avebury, head of the
international observer team.
In preparation for the 1985 elections, the PNC regime reenacted
Part II of the National Security Act. This act gave the security
forces wide-ranging powers of detention, including the authority to
prevent people "from acting in a manner likely to cause subversion
of democratic institutions in Guyana." The latitude authorized by
the National Security Act intimidated the opposition parties.
Reenactment of Part II was quickly followed by army chief of staff
McLean's announcement that the army would secure and escort ballot
boxes during the election. The PNC's victory was announced on
December 12, three days after the election. In response, several
civic groups, including the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana
Council of Churches, released a joint communique condemning, among
other things, "violence and collusion by police and army
personnel."
Data as of January 1992
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