Cheddi Jagan 1957
The PPP won the elections held two days before.
Source: Ceddi Jagan - Guyana's Hero;
© Nadira Jagan-Brancier.
The elections are over. The heat of the battle has subsided and tempers are cooling down. This is as it should be.
Now a great task faces us. We are prepared to assume the responsibilities of forming the government. We do so knowing fully well the difficulties confronting us. The legacy of backwardness we have inherited, the limited constitutional framework under which we have to work, and the many opponents and critics whose only aim is our destruction.
In spite of these difficulties I have every confidence that Guiana will move ahead. But I want to make it clear that this cannot be achieved by one party or one faction alone. Now is the time for national unity.
I appeal to all sections of the Guianese people, Party and non-party, those who voted for us and those who opposed us, to rally around us in our country’s hour of need. Let us cast off lethargy; let us put aside inertia. Our future is at stake. Much would depend on how unitedly we are able to pull through this difficult period.
Let us prove to the world that we can do it.