Independence was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy, who became the first Prime Minister of Grenada. Grenada opted to remain within the Commonwealth, retaining Queen Elizabeth as Monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General. Civil conflict gradually broke out between Eric Gairy's government and some opposition parties, including the Marxist New Jewel Movement (NJM). Gairy and the GULP won the 1976 Grenadian general election, albeit with a reduced majority; however, the opposition deemed the results invalid due to fraud and the violent intimidation performed by the so-called 'Mongoose Gang', a private militia loyal to Gairy.