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Counting the votes in Surinam
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Disappointment rules within the ranks of the New Front, a coalition or 'combination' formed by three ethnicity-based parties: the National Party of Surinam, the Progressive Reform Party and the Pertjaja Luhur. Although its 23 seats still make it the largest bloc in the assembly, it actually lost ten seats in this election.
The confidence with which the bloc entered the campaign has, therefore, suffered a considerable blow. While its message about Surinam's return to monetary stability and economic growth under a New Front government was hammered home throughout the campaign, the Surinamese electorate appears to have had other matters on its mind. Indeed, the government has not succeeded in tackling the continuing problem of poverty, improving the investment climate or in rooting out the problem of corruption.
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Gains for the man with a past
With a leap from seven to 15 seats, one might think that Desi Bouterse's National Democratic Party (NDP) would be satisfied, but the swing seems not to be enough to ensure the party a significant role in forming the next government. Within the ranks of the NDP there had been hopes for a bigger increase in support. Desi Bouterse was pushed forward as the NDP's candidate for the presidency, while his dubious past - including his responsibility for human rights violations committed in the 1980s - was conveniently pushed to one side. The NDP has attracted a great deal of support from young voters, most of whom were either not born during Surinam's dark years of military rule, or were too young to have been aware of what was happening at the time.
The other main combination group taking part in Wednesday's elections, the People's Alliance for Progress (VVV) of former president Jules Wijdenbosch, obtained six seats, to make it the third largest bloc in the assembly. The VVV, like the New Front, also includes parties that represent Surinam's Javanese and Hindu communities. Mr Wijdenbosch is still tainted by accusations of extravagance and of saddling the country with an enormous budget deficit.
From rebel to politician |
| Ronald Venetiaan - Surinam's current president has no guarantee that he can remain in the post |
A long wait
The election results mean that Surinam will have to wait to get a new government. Without the right majority to choose a president immediately, it looks fairly certain that the United People's Assembly - a body with around 800 representatives from all the country's districts - will have to meet to choose the next head of state. That could take several months.
The New Front has not officially named a candidate for the post, and Desi Bouterse's candidacy for the NDP is being questioned by people both in and outside the party.
As things stand now, anything could happen in this sparsely populated former Dutch colony.