Parliamentary General Elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2015 for all 51 seats in the National Assembly.

Electoral System

The 51 members in the unicameral National Assembly are elected from 10 constituencies on the basis of a party-list proportional representation system that involves preferential voting. The 10 electoral constituencies are coterminous with the ten administrative districts of Suriname. The National Assembly subsequently elects the President.

Background

These elections were the first to be held after amendments were made in April 2012 to the country's amnesty act. They effectively dropped charges against the President for alleged human rights abuses committed under his military rule in the 1980s, including an event in 1982 known as "the December murders" when 15 opposition figures were killed. V7's presidential candidate Mr. Santokhi is a former police commissioner who led the investigation into the murders. He pledged to repeal the 2012 amendments to the amnesty act if elected. 

Political Parties & Candidates

A total of 387 (259 men, 128 women) from 25 parties contested the 2015 election.

Campaign

During the election campaign, the NDP focused attention on their achievements while in government, citing improvements in infrastructure. V7 promised to restore the rule of law, strengthen democracy and tackle corruption. 

Results

President Desi Bouterse's National Democratic Party became the first single party to win a majority in the National Assembly. The NDP took 26 seats in the 51-member parliament, 8 more than the opposition coalition, Victory 7 (V7). Five seats were won by the coalition A-Combination, which supported Mr. Bouterse in the 2010 presidential elections. The President is elected indirectly by members of the National Assembly; a two-thirds majority (34 members) is required for such an election. On 14 July, the National Assembly re-elected Mr. Bouterse as the country's President. 

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout was 72.72%.