Since becoming a Cooperative Republic on February 23, 1970, Guyana has had ten presidents, nine of which had full executive powers and authority to govern the nation. The only non-executive president was His Excellency, Mr. Author Chung, who acted on and carried out the instructions of the late Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. During this period, the country was plagued with many problems ranging from economic, political, race riots, and the alleged claims by some of rigged of elections. And even though no one has been charged for the latter, the general perception is that from 1968 to 1992, the country experienced a period of undemocratic principles.