Election Deadlock Puts Suriname's Oil Bonanza in Play
Suriname's political future hangs in the balance after the two main parties were virtually tied in Sunday's election, triggering intense coalition talks to determine who will get to manage the upcoming oil bonanza.
Final results show the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) clinching 18 seats, narrowly edging out the ruling Progressive Reform Party (VHP), which secured 17, according to the official count.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Washington Post
Bolivia reinstates a leftist challenger but keeps former leader Morales off the ballot
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia's electoral tribunal on Friday included leftist Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez on the list of presidential candidates approved for the ballot but excluded the powerful former socialist leader Evo Morales — the other major thorn in the president's side. As tensions escalate in the run-up to Bolivia's Aug. 17 elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reinstated Rodríguez, a 36-year-old political upstart with close ties to Morales and roots in the ex-president's rural coca-growing stronghold, weeks after suspending his candidacy on technical grounds in a decision that shocked many Bolivians . 'We are the candidate of the people,' Rodríguez said in a speech welcoming the revival of his campaign. 'Our primary concern has been to wage the legal battle, and in the end, the power of the people had to prevail.' With the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, riven by dysfunction and division over President Luis Arce's power struggle with his former mentor , Morales, supporters of the senate leader see him as the only chance for MAS to beat the right-wing opposition and salvage its decades-long political dominance. President Arce, widely blamed for accelerating Bolivia's worst economic crisis in 40 years, dropped out of the race last month. Opinion polls show that his pick for the presidency, senior minister Eduardo del Castillo, has inherited the president's unpopularity. Arce's government insists that its main rival, Morales, is constitutionally barred from running. Morales accuses Arce of waging a 'judicial war' against him. In leaving out Morales, the tribunal opened the potential for further turmoil: Morales has called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Over the last week his followers have blockaded some of the main roads around the country, adding to a sense of crisis as merchants and truckers rise up in outrage over surging food prices and severe fuel shortages. Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, has been holed up in the country's tropics for months , surrounded by fiercely loyal coca-farmers, as Arce's government seeks his arrest on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. A constitutional court filled with judges beholden to Arce has disputed the legality of Morales' fourth candidacy and barred him from the contest. 'The constitutional court acts like a sniper ... restricting and enabling electoral participation upon request,' he said in response to his disqualification. 'The order is clear: Hand over the government to the right and legitimize the election with negotiated candidates who will protect their backs.' Morales, whose own loyalists packed the same court when he was president, points to an earlier court ruling that paved the way for his 2019 presidential campaign, that said it would violate his human rights to stop him running. Morales' bid that year for an unprecedented fourth term ultimately sparked mass protests and led to his resignation and brief self-exile. The conservative opposition to MAS is also fractured, with at least three right-of-center candidates vying for the presidency and no clear frontrunner. All of them are little-known abroad but well-known within Bolivia, where they have run for president or served in government in the past: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, former president from 2001-2002, Samuel Doria Medina, a former cement tycoon and planning minister, and Manfred Reyes Villa, the mayor of Bolivia's major central city of Cochabamba. Quiroga and Doria Medina promoted privatizations of state-run companies in the 1990s before MAS took over.
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Associated Press
Bolivia reinstates a leftist challenger but keeps former leader Morales off the ballot
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's electoral tribunal on Friday included leftist Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez on the list of presidential candidates approved for the ballot but excluded the powerful former socialist leader Evo Morales — the other major thorn in the president's side. As tensions escalate in the run-up to Bolivia's Aug. 17 elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reinstated Rodríguez, a 36-year-old political upstart with close ties to Morales and roots in the ex-president's rural coca-growing stronghold, weeks after suspending his candidacy on technical grounds in a decision that shocked many Bolivians. 'We are the candidate of the people,' Rodríguez said in a speech welcoming the revival of his campaign. 'Our primary concern has been to wage the legal battle, and in the end, the power of the people had to prevail.' With the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, riven by dysfunction and division over President Luis Arce's power struggle with his former mentor, Morales, supporters of the senate leader see him as the only chance for MAS to beat the right-wing opposition and salvage its decades-long political dominance. President Arce, widely blamed for accelerating Bolivia's worst economic crisis in 40 years, dropped out of the race last month. Opinion polls show that his pick for the presidency, senior minister Eduardo del Castillo, has inherited the president's unpopularity. Arce's government insists that its main rival, Morales, is constitutionally barred from running. Morales accuses Arce of waging a 'judicial war' against him. In leaving out Morales, the tribunal opened the potential for further turmoil: Morales has called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Over the last week his followers have blockaded some of the main roads around the country, adding to a sense of crisis as merchants and truckers rise up in outrage over surging food prices and severe fuel shortages. Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, has been holed up in the country's tropics for months, surrounded by fiercely loyal coca-farmers, as Arce's government seeks his arrest on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. A constitutional court filled with judges beholden to Arce has disputed the legality of Morales' fourth candidacy and barred him from the contest. 'The constitutional court acts like a sniper ... restricting and enabling electoral participation upon request,' he said in response to his disqualification. 'The order is clear: Hand over the government to the right and legitimize the election with negotiated candidates who will protect their backs.' Morales, whose own loyalists packed the same court when he was president, points to an earlier court ruling that paved the way for his 2019 presidential campaign, that said it would violate his human rights to stop him running. Morales' bid that year for an unprecedented fourth term ultimately sparked mass protests and led to his resignation and brief self-exile. The conservative opposition to MAS is also fractured, with at least three right-of-center candidates vying for the presidency and no clear frontrunner. All of them are little-known abroad but well-known within Bolivia, where they have run for president or served in government in the past: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, former president from 2001-2002, Samuel Doria Medina, a former cement tycoon and planning minister, and Manfred Reyes Villa, the mayor of Bolivia's major central city of Cochabamba. Quiroga and Doria Medina promoted privatizations of state-run companies in the 1990s before MAS took over.
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Saskatchewan lays charges in wildfires while 1,000 more flee in Manitoba
Prairie wildfires developed on two fronts Friday, as 1,000 more Manitoba residents were forced to flee their homes and Saskatchewan RCMP charged two people with starting blazes. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference that one charge relates to starting a fire near La Ronge, which has forced 7,000 people from the area. 'The RCMP have informed us that they have now charged a couple of individuals,' Moe said. An 18-year-old woman from Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a 36-year-old man from Pelican Narrows each face one count of arson, said RCMP. It's alleged the woman set the fire in a rural area near La Ronge. The man is accused of setting fires in a ditch near the turnoff to Snowden, northeast of Prince Albert. As of Friday, Saskatchewan had 24 active wildfires and Moe said between 10,000 and 15,000 people are out of their communities. 'Many if not virtually all of the fires that we're dealing with in Saskatchewan, although not intentionally, are human caused. Some of those have been intentionally human caused,' Moe said. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are both under a state of emergency, which makes it easier for different levels of government to co-ordinate a response. Manitoba has also received help from the military to evacuate residents, mainly in remote First Nations. Moe has faced calls from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Opposition NDP to follow suit. 'Every available resource in Canada must be utilized to combat these wildfires,' FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron wrote in a letter to Moe. 'We cannot afford to let critical assistance go unused.' The premier said while his Saskatchewan Party government is in daily contact with federal officials, provincial emergency crews have so far been able to get evacuees out. Moe said the Canadian Red Cross was also working to set up shelters for evacuees in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert. In Manitoba, the town of Snow Lake issued a mandatory evacuation order Friday due to a large wildfire threatening the area east of Flin Flon. 'You must leave because of the danger to your health and safety,' reads a notice on the town's Facebook page. That fire, which had grown to more than 3,000 square kilometres, has already forced out all 5,000 residents of the city of Flin Flon and about 1,000 more in surrounding homes and cottages. With Snow Lake evacuees added in, about 19,000 were out of their homes in Manitoba. About 27 fires were burning in the province, with eight classified as out of control. Earlier Friday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said evacuees have found places to stay with friends or family, in hotels or in congregate shelters. Getting evacuees into private accommodations is tricky, he said, because many hotel rooms are being reserved for people with 'intense' medical issues. 'We just have to do a balancing act,' Kinew said. 'At this point, the big-picture challenge around rooms has largely been addressed. 'It's now just about the daily balancing act of triaging people coming in and people who are already in shelters and matching them up with rooms.' Shelters have been set up in Winnipeg, Thompson and Brandon. The City of Flin Flon said on social media that no structures have been lost in the community or across the boundary in nearby Creighton, Sask. 'Winds in the area are now blowing from the south, resulting in heavy smoke and fire moving towards the south side of Flin Flon,' it said. The city added that fire protection, including sprinklers, have been set up and firefighters are working to protect property. Provincial fire officials said evacuations have been completed at First Nations at Pukatawagan and Cross Lake. In northern Alberta, approximately 1,300 residents of the town of Swan Hills were allowed to return to their homes Thursday, about a week after fleeing from a wildfire. But about 340 kilometres west in the County of Grande Prairie, people in the Municipal District of Opportunity were ordered out. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025. — With files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
