Team Evolution’s Paul DeNobrega won the Ballot Box Martyrs 55-mile cycling race in Berbice.
The race pedalled off at Freedom House, New Amsterdam before proceeding to Corriverton and culminating at Number 63 Beach; while the ladies and veterans over 50 finished at Tagore Secondary School.
The results of the race are as follows:
Open category:
1. Paul DeNobrega (Team Evolution)
2. Briton John (United We Stand)
3. Christopher Griffith (Team Evolution)
4. Curtis Dey (Team Evolution)
5. Andre Greene (Kaieteur Attack Racing)
6. Mario Washington
Juniors:
1. Mario Washington
2. Aaron Newton (United We Stand)
3. Alexander Leung (United We Stand)
Veterans:
1. Walter Grant Stuart (Kaieteur Attack Racing)
2. Paul Choo-wee-nam (Team Alanis)
3. Junior Niles (Team Coco’s)
Veterans Over 50:
1. Talim Shaw
2. Ian Jackson
Ladies:
1. Clivecia Spencer (Team Coco’s)
2. Marica Dick (United We Stand)
Background of race
On Election Day, July 16, 1973, Bholanauth and Ramessar were part of a crowd that had gathered outside a polling station at Number 63 Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The racing officials, cyclists and members of the PPP/C at the presentation
They were at the time protesting the removal of the ballot boxes from the place of poll at the end of voting.
The protesters wanted the ballots to be counted at the place of poll before the ballots were taken away. As such, during the protest, Bholanauth and Ramessar were shot and killed by a member of the Guyana Defence Force. This was during the People’s National Congress (PNC) regime. The 1973 incident was one of the many struggles to restore democracy to Guyana.
