Surinamese President Desi Bouterse says he is confident of holding on to power, despite polls suggesting that his National Democratic Party (NDP) will lose its majority in legislative elections that began yesterday.
With a partial lockdown in effect due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suriname’s 380,000 eligible voters headed to the polls to elect the 51 members of the Suriname National Assembly.
The assembly elects the president in the Dutch-speaking country of 600,000 people on the northeast shoulder of South America.
Photo: Reuters
It is an election crucial to Bouterse’s hopes of winning a third successive term as president.
However, an opinion poll by research institute IDOS suggested that Bouterse’s party is about to lose its legislative majority.
IDOS predicted the party “will suffer a substantial loss in Paramaribo,” the capital, with its overall share falling from 26 seats to 14 to 17.
“The decline in Paramaribo already ensures that the NDP will be referred to the opposition banks,” it said.
Bouterse last year was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a military court for carrying out executions during a previous military dictatorship.
He first took power in a 1980 coup and in 1982 allegedly rounded up and executed 15 political opponents, including lawyers, journalists and businessmen. The incident, known as the “December killings,” was investigated by his main rival in the current ballot, Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
In a separate case, a Dutch court in 1999 sentenced Bouterse to 11 years in prison in absentia for cocaine smuggling, a charge he denies.
Regardless of the polling, Bouterse remains confident that his party will hold onto its advantage and return him to power in the subsequent presidential vote.
“We enter this election with our heads held high and self-confidence,” the 74-year-old told supporters in Paramaribo.
IDOS expects opposition parties to claim 12 of the 17 seats in the capital.
Jack Menke, a professor at Suriname’s Anton de Kom University, said that “the share of floating voters is still very high,” perhaps as much as one-third of the electorate, meaning polls are far from reliable.
However, Santokhi of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP) is already claiming victory.
“I give you the guarantee that VHP will be the largest and we will govern and we will remove NDP from power,” he said.
However, VHP would likely still need to form a coalition to govern, even if it is the largest party.
Another important element is the partnership between the General Liberation and Development Party, led by Ronnie Brunswijk, and Paul Somohardjo’s Pertjajah Luhur party.
In a diverse country where citizens often vote along ethnic lines, former jungle rebel leader Brunswijk, who fought a civil war against Bouterse in the late 1980s, mostly represents the Maroons — descendants of African slaves. Somohardjo is from the Indonesian community.
Theirs are among 17 parties competing in the election.
Even if it comes out on top, the NDP would struggle to lead a coalition if it does not win a majority. Many parties have publicly ruled out such a partnership, as they blame the Bouterse administration for the financial crisis in the gold-and-oil-exporting nation.
Ratings agency S&P says Suriname’s “worsening economic, fiscal, and financial challenges” mean it risks defaulting on its debt.
While a party or coalition needs only a simple majority to take control of the National Assembly, a president requires two-thirds of the votes to be elected.
Results are expected today.
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