Daily Times

Suriname will hold legislative elections on Monday that are crucial to convicted murderer President Desi Bouterse‘s hopes of staying in power for a third term.

Under Suriname’s political system the president is elected by the 51 members of the National Assembly, who are up for re-election on Monday.

The election in the South American country of 600,000 takes place despite a partial lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and amid various corruption scandals and a dire economic outlook.

If Bouterse’s National Democratic Party (NDP) retains its narrow majority in the legislature, the 74-year-old former military dictator is likely to remain in power.

But Bouterse is a controversial figure.

Last year he was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a military court for carrying out executions during a previous military dictatorship.

He appealed his conviction and the case was postponed until June due to the coronavirus pandemic.

December killings

Bouterse first took power in a 1980 coup and in 1982 allegedly rounded up and executed 15 political opponents, including lawyers, journalists and businessmen, in an incident known as the “December killings.”

In 1999 Bouterse was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Dutch court for cocaine smuggling, a charge he denies.

After almost a decade out of power, he was first elected president in 2010, which gave him protection from an Interpol arrest warrant.

But it didn’t save him from being convicted over the 1982 massacre.

And even if he is re-elected, Bouterse would still go to jail if he doesn’t win his appeal.

Surinamese voters will elect 51 legislators for a five-year term, as well as 118 district and 772 local representatives.

The 51 lawmakers will then elect the president, with a two-thirds majority needed to win.

The ruling NDP is campaigning on its strong track record of substantially increasing social welfare, introducing mandatory health and pension insurances, carrying out major infrastructure projects and granting property to the landless.

Opposition parties, though, accuse the Bouterse administration of numerous corruption scandals and have warned that the country cannot afford the NDP’s spending.

Bouterse’s chief rival is legislator Chandrikapersad Santokhi of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP).

Santokhi is a former justice minister and police commissioner who investigated the “December killings” and unsuccessfully ran against Bouterse in the 2010 and 2015 presidential races.

The financial crisis has been the main campaign issue in Suriname, which exports oil and gold.