Bibi Haniffa posted:Cheddi Jagan never told his supporters that the ballot boxes must be counted at the polling stations. What Cheddi Jagan told his supporters is, they must stay with the ballot boxes during transportation from polling station to the police station or location where the ballots were going to be counted.
Miss Haniffa, as a 21-year-old PPP activist I participated in the 1973 election campaign. I chaired one public meeting on the East Bank Demerara and spoke at two others in West Demerara along with Dr Cheddi Jagan. I saw and heard close-up Dr Jagan telling the gathering at Canal #2 Polder, WBD: "Comrades, you must secure the ballot boxes bodily. Don't let them carry the boxes away. In 1968 there were bundles of ballots wrapped with rubber band in a box. That was done behind the people's backs. They get ketch because they forget to take out the rubber band from the PNC ballots they put in. You must not let that happen this time. You must insist they count your votes on the spot immediately after the last man vote."
Luckily, West Demerara people were smart and they did not follow that advice and no fatal shooting occurred as in Berbice. Not to say that there were no confrontations with the security forces but they were minor compared to the Corentyne.