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CARICOM and OAS Observers Laud
Suriname Elections
Observers from the Caribbean
Community and the Organization
of American States (OAS) lauded
elections in Suriname for their
peaceful and organized
development.
The government New Front (NF)
coalition of President Ronald
Venetiaan won 24 of 51 seats in
Parliament, revealed the
preliminary turn out of the
elections in Suriname.
The National Democratic Party of
former President Desi Bouterse
(1980-1987) is second with 15
seats, while the NF lost nine.
Since none seems to win the
spare 27 seats to hope for
majority rule they will have to
make alliances with minor
forces, relaying on ethnic and
political leans.
Choosing the President and Vice
President for the 490,000
population of Suriname, made up
of East Indians, Chinese,
Europeans, Africans and
Indonesians, will give way to
complex negotiations that may
take weeks.
The other parties" situation is
as follows: The People"s
Alliance for Development (five
seats), Combination A (5), and
the Coalition A1 with 3 shows
the worst situation with 96 per
cent of votes already counted.
It is rumored that the NF will
seek an alliance with CA.
While the NF campaign lauded
Venetiaan"s efforts to balance
the domestic economy by axing
public spending the NDP has
never decided if its candidate
would be Bouterse, given 11-year
prison term in absentia in 1999
and considered a threat to
western assistance.
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