General elections were held in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

on 25 May 2010. Nine entities contested the election, including several coalitions. Pre-election polls suggested a share of 41% of the vote going to the "Mega Combination" coalition that includes the National Democratic Party of former dictator Dési Bouterse. The ruling Nieuw Front (NF) had around 22.5% support. There were 324,490 people registered to vote in the election which would determine the holders of 51 parliament seats, 116 regional positions and 752 municipal positions.

Results

Preliminary results issued on 26 May 2010 showed the Mega Combination winning a

plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...

of 23 seats, up from 15 in the last election. The

New Front for Democracy and Development The New Front for Democracy and Development ( nl, Nieuw Front voor Democratie en Ontwikkeling) was a social-democratic political alliance in Suriname. At the legislative elections (25 May 2005), the alliance won 41.2% of the popular votes and 23 ...

alliance of incumbent President

Ronald Venetiaan Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan (born 18 June 1936) is a former politician who served as the 6th President of Suriname. Biography Venetiaan was born in Paramaribo. In 1955, Venetiaan left Suriname to study mathematics and physics at the University of Lei ...

(who had stated before the election that he would not seek another term) was said to have won 14 seats. Venetiaan ruled out working together with the NDP as long as it was led by Bouterse. In the upcoming indirect

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in July 2010, a two-thirds majority will be required to elect the next president.

Organisation of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

election observers reported a peaceful election with no irregularities. Bouterse had not stated if he will seek to return to the presidency. Dutch Foreign Minister

Maxime Verhagen Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen (; born 14 September 1956) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and historian. Verhagen studied Contemporary history at the Leiden University obtaining a Master of Arts degre ...

said that the Dutch government would respect the will of the voters of Suriname, despite Bouterse having been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Dutch court for drug dealing. An Interpol arrest warrant has been issued for him, but Suriname does not extradite its citizens.

Aftermath

The NDP successfully concluded a coalition deal with Bouterse's former opponents in the civil war, the

A Combinatie The A-Combination ( nl, A-Combinatie) was a political alliance in Suriname. History The A-Combinatie was formed in 2005 as an alliance of Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP), the General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP) and Seeka, and ...

, giving him a majority in parliament, but not the two-thirds majority required to elect the president. Negotiations with the People's Alliance to attain the necessary supermajority reportedly failed after the People's Alliance raised excessive demands. The NDP fell out with the A Combinatie over the number of cabinet posts, however, and subsequently, the New Front (led by the National Party of Suriname) formed a coalition deal with the A Combinatie and the People's Alliance, giving them 27 seats in parliament, enough to form the government, but too few to elect the president. It was seen as a possibility that Bouterse might be elected in the final round of the presidential election (when it goes to the People's Assembly, where the NDP has a majority. In a surprise development,

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons Jennifer Geerlings-Simons ( Simons; born 5 September 1953 in Paramaribo) is a Surinamese politician. On 30 June 2010, she was elected as Chairperson of the National Assembly of Suriname with 26 out of 50 votes. Simons is the second female chair ...

from the NDP was elected Chairwoman of the House on 30 June 2010 with 26 to 24 votes, even though the anti-NDP parties had a majority in parliament. The NPS's

Ruth Wijdenbosch Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Arka ...

was elected Vice Chairwoman with 25 to 24 votes. In the run-up to the presidential election on 19 July 2010, Bouterse convinced the A Combinatie to join forces with him, giving him a 30-seat majority; immediately before the election, he succeeded in getting the People's Alliance to join him, giving him the votes required to become president.

References

{{Surinamese elections Elections in Suriname

2010 in Suriname Election and referendum articles with incomplete results