The life and work of Fr. Malcolm Rodrigues represent and symbolize much more than his individual efforts, courageous though they were. The violent rigging of the 1973 elections, facilitated by the seizure of the ballot boxes by the Guyana Defence Force and their sequestration at Camp Ayangana, enabled the PNC to declare a two-third majority victory. This frightening event gave an impetus to political activities. Opposition to the PNC had been led mainly by the PPP through parliamentary debates, political meetings, industrial action by GAWU and modest civil society activity for civil liberties orchestrated mainly by the PPP. The traumatic rigging of the elections, in which two PPP activists, Bholanauth Permanand and Jagan Ramessar, were shot at No. 63 Village, Cornetyne, arrested, and bled to death over hours at the back of a police land rover, shocked the nation. It brought additional forces in the campaign for free and fair elections, civil liberties and human rights. The launching of the WPA in 1975 introduced new and dynamic voices, mobilised additional support and created optimism. Fr. Malcolm Rodrigues was one of these voices.
