deliver the May Day address in the town of Linden. His sister-in-law and his driver also died; his wife Joyce was the lone survivor. Presidency On Burnham's death on 6 August 1985, Hoyte became the third President of Guyana. Shortly before Burnham's death, he and other members of the PNC had embarked on talks with the opposition People's Progressive Party attempting to achieve a national unity formula to deal with the country's problems. Hoyte announced his willingness to continue the dialogue, but also announced that a general election would be held on 9 December. Responding to criticisms of previous elections as fraudulent, he agreed to certain reforms. Immediately after becoming President, Hoyte removed bans on imported food items and opened Guyana to greater international trade. In July 1987, he hosted the President of the African National Congress, Oliver Tambo, for a four-day visit, highlighting the close links Guyana maintained with the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. Also in 1987, Hoyte established the Guyana Prize for Literature. In 1989, Hoyte first proposed a conservation area in the Guyanese rainforest; this proposal would eventually become the Iwokrama Forest. Hoyte was also Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 until 1992. During Hoyte's presidency, violent crime decreased, but Hoyte failed to reduce levels of corruption within the government. Hoyte used the increased powers of the presidency (changed by his predecessor in the 1980 Constitution) to move away from policies advocated by previous president Forbes Burnham which had led to high poverty rates and high debt. He also invited foreign investment and made peace with the International Monetary Fund, which angered others in his party. During Hoyte's tenure, Guyana's significant sugar industry saw a revival, and the economically important Omai Mine was opened and began production. During his presidency, he would try to improve racial relations between Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese, being called derisively "Desmond Persaud" for his supposed better treatment of Indo-Guyanese people. Hoyte also re-established freedom of press. 1992 General Election Hoyte announced significant electoral reforms in 1990 prior to the 1992 election, influenced by former US President Jimmy Carter. These reforms included a ban on the military providing electoral services with the exception of for security purposes, counting being done at the place of voting, the establishment of an independent electoral commission and changes to ballots and ballot boxes. According to Hamilton Green, Jimmy Carter personally announced that overseas voting would no longer