and the following murders of 5 Indo-Guyanese individuals at Mackenzie. In one incident in August 1964, Jagan, Burnham, and d'Aguiar were conferring about reducing the spate of violence when the headquarters of the PPP were bombed just down the street. Just before the election, the CIA estimated that the PPP and PNC would take about 40 percent of the vote, United Force would take 15 percent, and the false-flag Justice Party (aimed at Indo-Guyanese voters and backed by the CIA), would take 5 percent. 1964–1966: Premier of British Guiana In the 1964 election on 7 December 1964, Jagan's PPP won the highest percentage of the vote (46% to the PNC's 41%), but it did not win a majority. Burnham succeeded in forming a coalition with the United Force (TUF) (which had won the remaining 12% of the votes) and became premier of British Guiana on 14 December. Jagan refused to resign, and had to be removed by Governor Richard Luyt. Burnham would remain as Head of Government of Guyana for the next 21 years. In 1965, Burnham along with Errol Barrow of Barbados were the founders of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), which came into operation on 1 May 1968. CARIFTA would, in 1973, be superceded by CARICOM. On 26 May 1966, British Guiana became an independent country and was renamed "Guyana". Under the country's constitution, the Head of State would be the British monarch, represented in Guyana by the governor general, who served in a largely ceremonial capacity, and the Head of Government would be the Prime Minister (Forbes) appointed by a majority in the National Assembly. 1966–1980: Prime Minister of Guyana In one of Burnham's first acts upon independence, he passed a sweeping "National Security Act", permitting unrestricted search-and-seizure powers and the ability to detain individuals for up to 90 days without trial. Burnham still had a significant electoral disadvantage, as voting support mostly followed racial lines, and about 50% of the Guyanese population on independence was Indo-Guyanese and would likely support Jagan's PPP, making a fair election nearly impossible to win for Burnham. A telegram from the US Ambassador stated that "he intends to remain in power indefinitely" and "if necessary, he is prepared to employ unorthodox methods to achieve his aims". In a meeting with US President Lyndon B. Johnson in July 1966, Burnham discussed a scheme to promote immigration of Afro-Caribbean people in an