Latest news with #DutchColony
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Suriname's ruling party, opposition nearly tied in parliamentary election
PARAMARIBO, May 26 (Reuters) - Suriname's ruling party and its top opposition rival won almost the same number of parliamentary seats in an election on Sunday, setting the stage for complex coalition negotiations that will determine who becomes the country's next president. The South American nation is on the cusp of a predicted oil boom, but campaigning for the ballot featured little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with the income. With 43 polling stations yet to be counted, results showed the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) - founded by former President Desi Bouterse, who dominated Surinamese politics for decades but died a fugitive last year - had won 18 seats, with 79,544 votes. The ruling Progressive Reform Party (VHP) of current President Chan Santokhi won 17 seats, with 75,983. Smaller parties, now potential kingmakers, won the remaining 16 of 51 total seats. An unknown number of votes from the uncounted polling stations remained to be added to the tally as of early Monday. Turnout so far was 58% of about 400,000 eligible voters. Negotiations between parties to choose a president and cabinet ministers for the former Dutch colony, independent since 1975, were already expected to take weeks even prior to the tight result. A two-thirds majority in parliament is required to elect the president. Santokhi, a 66-year-old former police commissioner who has campaigned to remain in office, won more votes than any other lawmaker, just under 40,000. "We asked for a mandate and this is the mandate that the people have given. With that, we now have to move forward. It is up to us to have talks with other political parties based on this," Santokhi, who has not ruled out cooperation with any other party, told local newspaper the Suriname Herald. The NDP is set to back its party head Jennifer Simons, a doctor who served as parliamentary speaker for a decade until 2020, for president. Simons was second in vote tallies, winning 34,750 votes. The NDP will not work with the VHP, NDP Vice Chair Sergio Akiemboto told reporters late on Sunday. NDP founder Bouterse left office in 2020, the year after he was convicted in the 1982 murders of 15 government critics. When the conviction was upheld in 2023, Bouterse went into hiding, dying at the age of 79 at an unknown location on Christmas Eve. Suriname's first big offshore energy development, the Gran Morgu oil and gas project, is set to begin production in 2028. The project is led by TotalEnergies ( opens new tab. Discovered reserves may allow Suriname to compete with neighbor Guyana - whose economy grew 43.6% last year - as a prominent producer.
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Oil riches are on the horizon as Suriname chooses its next government
Voters in Suriname, which is on the cusp of a much anticipated oil boom, have begun to elect a new parliament, which will subsequently choose the next president of the smallest nation in South America. Sunday's elections have already been marked by fraud allegations and have seen little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with income from the offshore oil and gas Gran Morgu project. It is to begin production in 2028. Experts said Suriname, a country beset by poverty and rampant inflation, is projected to make billions of dollars in the coming decade or two from recently discovered offshore crude deposits. The project, led by TotalEnergies, is Suriname's first major offshore effort. The former Dutch colony, independent since 1975, discovered reserves that may allow it to compete with neighbouring Guyana – whose economy grew 43.6 percent last year – as a prominent producer. 'It will be a huge amount of income for the country,' President Chan Santokhi told the AFP news agency this week. 'We are now able … to do more for our people, so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation.' Santokhi is constitutionally eligible for a second term, but with no single party in a clear lead in the elections, pollsters are not predicting the outcome. The party with the most seats will lead Suriname's next government, likely through a coalition with smaller parties, but negotiations and the choosing of a new president are expected to take weeks. Fourteen parties are taking part in the elections, including Santokhi's centrist Progressive Reform Party and the leftist National Democratic Party of deceased former coup leader and elected President Desi Bouterse. Also in the running is the centre-left General Liberation and Development Party of Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk, a former rebel who fought against Bouterse's government in the 1980s. Provisional results are expected by late Sunday. Suriname – a diverse country made up of descendants of people from India, Indonesia, China, the Netherlands, Indigenous groups and enslaved Africans – will mark the 50th anniversary of its independence from the Netherlands in November. Since independence, it has looked increasingly towards China as a political ally and trading partner and in 2019 became one of the first Latin American countries to join the Asian giant's Belt and Road infrastructure drive. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a stopover in Suriname in March on a regional tour aimed at countering China's growing influence in the region. More than 90 percent of the country is covered in forest, and it is one of few in the world with a negative carbon footprint. Santokhi insisted this status is not in danger and Suriname can use its oil windfall 'for the transition towards the green energy which we need, also because we know the fossil energy is limited'. 'It will be gone after 40 years.'
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Suriname poised for oil wealth injection as voters head to the polls
Suriname, South America's smallest country, is preparing for an inflow of cash from a huge offshore oil find, with the president insisting the population will receive a direct share of the wealth. The Dutch-speaking nation of about 600,000 people expects to rake in about US$10 billion in the next decade or two, with crude extraction set to begin in 2028. Projected output is 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) – up from about 5,000 to 6,000 – in a country where one in five people live in poverty. 'From 2028, we'll be an oil-producing country,' President Chan Santokhi said ahead of elections on Sunday for lawmakers who will choose the next president. He is one of several candidates in the running to steer the former Dutch colony wedged between Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana. 'It will be a huge amount of income for the country,' Santokhi said. 'We are now able … to do more for our people so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Suriname poised for cash inflow from newly discovered oil
Suriname, South America's smallest country, is preparing for an inflow of cash from a huge offshore oil find, with the president insisting the population will receive a direct share of the wealth. The Dutch-speaking nation of about 600,000 people expects to rake in about $10 billion in the next decade or two, with crude extraction set to begin in 2028. Projected output is 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- up from about 5,000 to 6,000 -- in a country where one in five people live in poverty. "From 2028, we'll be an oil-producing country," President Chan Santokhi told AFP ahead of elections Sunday for lawmakers who will choose the next president. He is one of several candidates in the running to steer the former Dutch colony wedged between Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana. "It will be a huge amount of income for the country," Santokhi said. "We are now able... to do more for our people so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation." Besides investing in agriculture, tourism, health, education and green energy, some of the oil money is being paid directly to Surinamese citizens under a program Santokhi has dubbed "Royalties for Everyone" -- RVI for its Dutch acronym. "It's their share," he said. Victorine Moti, a finance ministry official responsible for the fund, told AFP: "The whole population of Suriname is eligible for this program, everybody who was born before the 1st of January 2025 and had the Surinamese nationality." "In figures, it's 572,000 people." All eligible citizens can register to receive a one-off payment equivalent to $750 paid into an account with an interest yield of seven percent per year. "With the certificate, they can go to the bank and they have two options: they can withdraw the money or they can choose to save. Hopefully, they will try to save and not cash out immediately," said Moti. The first beneficiaries are the elderly and disabled, paid with funds advanced by banks. Next in line will be people 60 and older, then -- once the revenues start flowing in 2028 -- the biggest group of people aged 18-59. People who save their money for 10 years will receive a bonus of $150 on top of interest earned. - 'Enjoy my money' - Naslem Doelsan, 80, has already received her certificate and told AFP she will cash out "to buy good food and some household stuff." "Why do I need... money in the bank? I'm already old and I want to enjoy my money," she said. Fellow retiree Jai Abas, 91, told AFP he would keep the money in the bank for now, and maybe give his granddaughter, who lives in the Netherlands, some "pocket money" when she visits. "What would I do with money? I am old. I can't go anywhere," said Abas, adding his only vice is cigarettes. Anuschka Tolud, a 38-year-old in a wheelchair, said she would save her payout in the hopes it can one day augment her $113 monthly welfare payout. Santokhi had previously spoken about avoiding the so-called "oil curse," also known as "Dutch disease," that had befallen other resource-rich countries, such as Venezuela, Angola and Algeria, that were unable to turn oil wealth into economic success. Norway became an exception by creating a sovereign wealth fund. Suriname, the president said, would take a "unique" approach, well aware that its crude resources will last only about 40 years. "We have income from the profit of the oil, we will have income from our fiscal revenues and we will have income from the royalties," he said. - Property of the nation - In 2024, French multinational TotalEnergies committed to investing $10.5 billion in the offshore oil field of GranMorgu in the Atlantic Ocean. An article in the Surinamese Constitution states that "natural riches and resources are property of the nation and shall be used to promote economic, social and cultural development." But some worry that the benefits may not find their way to all citizens, especially those who live in rural areas, Indigenous communities and Maroons -- descendants of African slaves. "I myself am curious as to how funds and bureaucracy will be accessed by Indigenous and Maroon communities," Giovanna Montenegro, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Binghamton University in New York State, told AFP. str-lab/mlr/sla/lb Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Voters in Suriname to choose government to helm predicted oil boom
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, May 23 (Reuters) - Voters in Suriname, which is on the cusp of a predicted oil boom, will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament, which will later choose the South American country's next president. The contest, marked by fraud allegations, has seen little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with income from the offshore oil and gas Gran Morgu project, set to begin production in 2028. The project, led by TotalEnergies ( opens new tab, is Suriname's first major offshore effort. The former Dutch colony, independent since 1975, discovered reserves that may allow it to compete with neighbor Guyana - whose economy grew 43.6% last year - as a prominent producer. The party with the most seats will lead Suriname's next government, likely through a coalition with smaller parties, but negotiations and the choosing of a new president are expected to take weeks. Potential presidential nominees from the ruling Progressive Reform Party (VHP) include President Chan Santokhi and Defense Minister Krishna Mathoera. The National Democratic Party (NDP) - founded by former President Desi Bouterse, who died a fugitive last year - could back party head Jennifer Simons, former Vice President Ashwin Adhin or Bouterse's widow, Ingrid Bouterse. Just under 400,000 voters, from the country's coast to its jungle hinterlands, are eligible to elect 51 national lawmakers and 784 regional representatives. Voter turnout historically hovers around 75%. Santokhi, who led a 1,700-person bike ride in Paramaribo on Sunday after handing out orange bicycles emblazoned with "Chan" on the frame, has not ruled out cooperation with any party. "We cannot say: Cooperate with those, don't cooperate with those," the 66-year-old Santokhi, a former police commissioner, said on television on Wednesday. "Because ultimately the people decide what those parties are going to get in votes." Opposition NDP party leader Simons, 71, has told Dutch media she believes the government is preparing a "massive fraud" and that polling showing a potential VHP lead is part of the plot. Simons, a doctor who served as speaker of parliament for a decade until 2020, has said NDP polling shows the party will win more than double the votes of the VHP, whose leaders have scoffed at the fraud allegations. A poll commissioned by the Times of Suriname showed 39.4% support for the NDP and 21.5% for the VHP, while a poll by LC Media showed the VHP three seats ahead, with 17 seats. Bouterse and the NDP dominated Surinamese politics for decades. He left office in 2020, the same year he was convicted in the 1982 murders of 15 government critics. When the conviction was upheld in 2023, Bouterse went into hiding, dying at 79 at an unknown location on Christmas Eve. His widow, Ingrid, 64, is on NDP's parliamentary list and active in campaigning, regularly polling her Facebook followers on whether she should serve in parliament or be president. Parties have made general promises to improve health, education and diversify the economy, but civil society coalition the Citizens' Initiative for Participation and Good Governance (BINI) said in a Wednesday report they have failed to offer specifics about oil revenue spending. "None of the parties has a clear and concrete plan for the revenues from the Gran Morgu project," BINI said, though it said promises may not matter much when it comes to coalition negotiations. "It is mainly about dividing the cake - who gets which positions or ministries - not about what is best for the country," BINI said.
