President
CountrySuriname
Previous election2020
Next election2030
Election date25 May 2025
Seats for electionAll 51 seats in the National Assembly
Majority seats26
Ongoingno
Turnout69.36% ( 4.68pp)
Party 1National Democratic Party (Suriname)
Leader 1Jennifer Geerlings-Simons
Last election 116
Current seats 116
Party 2Progressive Reform Party (Suriname)
Leader 2Chan Santokhi
Last election 220
Current seats 220
Party 3ABOP
Leader 3Ronnie Brunswijk
Last election 38
Current seats 38
Party 4National Party of Suriname
Leader 4Gregory Rusland
Last election 43
Current seats 43
Party 5PL
Leader 5Paul Somohardjo
Last election 52
Current seats 52
Party 6Alternative 2020
Leader 6Steven Reyme
Last election 60
Current seats 60
Party 7Brotherhood and Unity in Politics
Leader 7Ronny Asabina
Last election 72
Current seats 72
Before electionChan Santokhi
Before partyProgressive Reform Party (Suriname)
Seats 118
Seats 217
Seats 36
Seats 46
Seats 52
Seats 61
Seats 71
Percentage 134.18
Percentage 231.78
Percentage 311.63
Percentage 411.42
Percentage 53.77
Percentage 72.61
Percentage 62.73
After electionJennifer Geerlings-Simons
After partyNational Democratic Party (Suriname)

General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2025. No party obtained a majority in the 51-seat National Assembly, with the National Democratic Party (NDP) winning 18 seats followed by the ruling Progressive Reform Party of outgoing President Chan Santokhi with 17.

Following the elections the NDP formed a coalition government with the General Liberation and Development Party, the National Party of Suriname, Pertjajah Luhur, Alternative 2020 and the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics, with NDP leader Jennifer Geerlings-Simons becoming Suriname's first female president.

Background

The date was announced by president Chan Santokhi in his annual speech at the National Assembly on 1 October 2024.[1] After his resignation in mid-October 2024 as minister of Internal Affairs, Bronto Somohardjo was succeeded one and a half months later by Delano Landvreugd as minister and Maurits Hassankhan as deputy minister. Hassankhan was responsible for organizing the 2025 elections.[2]

Electoral system

The 51 seats in the National Assembly are elected using party-list proportional representation. Previous general elections had been held using ten multi-member constituencies, but following a ruling by the Constitutional Court in 2022 that judged that the malapportionment that existed was unconstitutional, it was decided to remedy this by abolishing the constituencies altogether, so that the legislature is elected from nationwide party lists. This case was started by Serena Essed.[3] The National Assembly approved the new electoral system on 13 October 2023.[4]

Candidates

Fourteen parties contested the elections.[5]

PartyPositionIdeologyPrevious election
Progressive Reform PartyCentre to centre-left
National Democratic PartyCentre-left
General Liberation and Development PartyCentre-left
National Party of SurinameCentre-leftSocial democracy
Pertjajah LuhurSingle-issue
Brotherhood and Unity in PoliticsCentre-leftSocial democracy

Campaign

Among the major campaign issues was the management of potential revenues from recently discovered oil deposits, with National Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jennifer Geerlings-Simons pledging to require "all enterprises to work with Surinamese and buy Suriname products" as part of efforts to ensure access by the population to benefits from oil revenues.[6] Incumbent president Chan Santokhi, of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP), pledged to maintain Suriname's status as a carbon-negative country and use some of the oil revenues in the transition towards a green economy and related projects, noting that the reserves would be exhausted in 40 years. He also pledged to use the revenues for cash handouts under the "Royalties for Everyone" program.[7]

Results

Initial results showed that no party obtained a majority in the National Assembly, with the NDP winning 18 seats followed by the ruling VHP at 17. The remaining 16 seats were won by smaller parties. Turnout was estimated to be at least 58%.[8] On 27 May, the NDP announced that it had finalized a coalition agreement with the General Liberation and Development Party, the National Party of Suriname, Pertjajah Luhur, Alternative 2020 and the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics. The coalition had enough votes to elect Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as Suriname's first female president. Between them, the parties in the NDP-led coalition have 34 seats, exactly the two-thirds supermajority required to elect a president without the need for support from other parties.[9]

On 3 July, the VHP said that it would not put forward a candidate against Geerlings-Simons. At the time, she had been the only person to lodge her candidacy.[10] As expected, Geerlings-Simons was elected unopposed as president on 6 July with NPS leader Gregory Rusland as vice president.[11]

Results by district

Results by district (preliminary)
DistrictNDPVHPABOPNPSPLA20BEPOthersTotal
%%%%%%%%
Brokopondo2,75345.98%450.75%1,19319.93%81113.55%10.02%340.57%1,09118.22%590.99%5,987
Commewijne5,80431.63%6,84737.31%1,3497.35%1,1896.48%2,20111.99%3992.17%1120.61%4502.45%18,351
Coronie81355.72%1026.99%523.56%39927.35%261.78%221.51%30.21%422.88%1,459
Marowijne2,29220.12%4183.67%7,69567.57%3733.28%530.47%1211.06%3753.29%620.54%11,389
Nickerie5,48430.29%9,71653.66%4792.65%8624.76%1,0695.90%1260.70%810.45%2891.60%18,106
Para8,30856.08%1,3959.42%1,66811.26%2,02013.63%3472.34%5133.46%3202.16%2441.65%14,815
Paramaribo40,46537.00%29,86827.31%9,9869.13%18,01416.47%2,6572.43%4,0623.71%1,9101.75%2,4082.20%109,370
Saramacca3,82837.14%5,07849.27%3383.28%3583.47%3573.46%1881.82%80.08%1511.47%10,306
Sipaliwini4,93042.69%2322.01%3,18927.62%1,1219.71%50.04%610.53%1,81515.72%1951.69%11,548
Wanica18,60125.98%33,08746.22%5,7778.07%5,9788.35%3,5454.95%1,9192.68%1,3961.95%1,2841.79%71,587

References

  1. ^ "President Santokhi houdt laatste jaarrede, maakt datum verkiezingen bekend" [President Santokhi delivers final annual speech, announces election date] (in Dutch). Suriname Herald. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Kogel door de kerk: Delano Landvreugd wordt nieuwe Biza-minister" [The decision has been made: Delano Landvreugd becomes the new Biza minister] (in Dutch). Suriname Herald. 2024-11-29. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Breaking: Huidige zetelverdeling districten is van de baan" [Breaking: Current district seat distribution is off the table] (in Dutch). Star Nieuws. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Kiesstelstel gewijzigd; verkiezingen zijn weer mogelijk" [Electoral system changed; elections are possible again] (in Dutch). Star Nieuws. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  5. ^ "Seeking to change its fortunes, oil-rich Suriname votes". France 24. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  6. ^ "With eye on oil wealth Suriname parties enter coalition talks". France 24. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Suriname president vows oil bonanza won't hit carbon-negative status". France 24. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  8. ^ Kuipers, Ank (26 May 2025). "Suriname's ruling party, opposition nearly tied in parliamentary election". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  9. ^ Rozenblad, Gerold (28 May 2025). "A new coalition challenges Suriname's president after a close election". AP News. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Geerlings-Simons set to be Suriname's first woman president". France 24. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Suriname parliament elects Simons as first female president". Staboek News. 6 July 2025.