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UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000076 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL NS
SUBJECT: SURINAME MAY 2010 ELECTIONS: Parties and Coalitions - The 
Only Sure Thing is a Shifting Landscape 
 
REF: 09 PARAMARIBO 287 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Suriname's political parties are entering the 
home stretch of negotiations, as parties and formal coalitions must 
register with the Central Polling Authority prior to the March 
16-21 deadline in order to participate in the May 25 national 
elections.  The public is bombarded by almost daily speculation and 
announcements related to the composition, dissensions, break-ups, 
and partnering among the parties within the three current 
coalitions (New Front, Mega-Combination, and Midden Blok).  Post 
expects that the extent to which these coalitions coalesce and stay 
together will dominate the political landscape, with political 
maneuvering and realignments continuing through and beyond election 
day.  This report outlines the current players, coalitions, and 
possible factors and personalities involved in Suriname's evolving 
political environment and upcoming elections.  Prospects are good 
for well-organized, free and fair elections.  As to who will win, 
Suriname's future political line-up is still anyone's guess.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) There are some 40-50 political parties in Suriname, but 
fewer than 25 meet the minimum size to participate in the 
elections.  For many, whom they choose to partner with before and 
after the upcoming elections will determine how many National 
Assembly seats they get, and whether they are a member of the 
ruling coalition.  In the meantime, a newly released public opinion 
poll focused on the New Front and the Mega-Combination as the two 
contenders in the upcoming elections.  The poll also stated that 
the New Front coalition only stands a chance of winning against the 
Mega-Combination if Pertjajah Luhur remains a part of the 
coalition. 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) While opinion polls and commentary have already begun to 
survey voter support for what are expected to be the three main 
coalitions contesting the elections, all parties remain occupied in 
negotiating with potential coalition partners.  Suriname's 
electoral system assigns National Assembly seats on a proportional 
basis (Reftel), so larger coalitions have the advantage in 
capturing National Assembly seats.  Formal registration of parties 
and coalitions to participate in the election will occur March 
16-21, 2010, at the Central Polling Authority. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) After coalitions are registered, and even after the 
elections, adjustments can and probably will be made on which 
parties will cooperate with whom to form the next government.  As 
parties and coalitions count their Assembly seats, they will decide 
how to divide the spoils.  In the past, entire parties have 
forsaken their coalition allegiances to join another coalition.  In 
one case, a group of newly seated National Assembly members crossed 
their own party line to join in forming the government with another 
coalition. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) In Suriname, politics are personal, and coalitions are often 
formed and dissolved based on personal relationships and/or feuds 
rather than on political platforms.  Several close Embassy contacts 
have opined that Suriname is actually moving backwards rather than 
forward when it comes to parties formulating policies and platforms 
for their campaigns.  They even go so far as to say that elections 
are a mechanism for parties to redistribute the wealth they have 
accumulated to their patrons. 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) Because parties and coalitions in Suriname are based little 
on belief systems, political relationships can easily morph into 
unexpected alliances.  Where the parties and coalitions stand in 
their partnerships can and is evolving quickly.  Who they will 
choose as bed fellows - temporary or longer term - remains to be 
 
 
seen. 
 
 
 
The New Front Plus Coalition 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) The current ruling government, the "New Front Plus" 
coalition, is composed of eight political parties.  In the 2005 
campaign, the New Front coalition was formed in January and ran as 
a group of four parties:  National Party of Suriname (NPS), United 
Reform Party (VHP)(Note:  another common translation of the party 
name is the Progressive Reform Party), Pertjajah Luhur (PL), and 
Surinamese Labor Party (SPA).  When the coalition failed to garner 
a majority of National Assembly seats, the New Front combined with 
an additional four parties to form the current government.  Three 
of the four were Maroon parties that ran as the A-1 Combination 
coalition - General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP), Union 
of Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP), and SEEKA.  The fourth 
party was Democratic Alternative 91 (DA91), which originally ran as 
a member of the Alternative Forum Coalition and, post-election 
(2005), abandoned its coalition members to join the "New Front 
Plus" ruling coalition.  (2005 seats per party:  NPS-8; VHP-7; 
PL-6; SPA-2; A-Combination-5; and DA91-1. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) As of February 3, the New Front Plus coalition parties have 
not committed to running in 2010 as a coalition.  Only the NPS and 
the VHP, long-time partners, have formally committed to a 
partnership under their "brotherhood principle."  It is widely 
believed that this year the coalition's presidential candidate will 
come from the VHP (in all past NPS/VHP governments, the VHP has 
been relegated to the vice-president slot).  Local interlocutors 
told us that Vice President Ramdien Sardjoe would like to be 
president, but that current Minister of Justice and Police 
Chandrikapersad Santokhi would be a more viable cross-party 
candidate. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) So far the NPS and VHP have been decidedly cool on the 
prospects of inviting other coalition members to run with them in 
May.  On February 1, President Venetiaan (NPS) stated the New Front 
Plus coalition (as is) will not stay together just to retain 
control of power.  The President was further quoted as saying the 
parties must ensure their strategies are fully aligned, and that 
they have clear agreement on what they stand for, before forming a 
coalition. It is does not appear that this was achieved during the 
coalition's meeting on the evening of February 3. 
 
 
 
¶10. (U) The lion's share of talk about the New Front Plus coalition 
centers on its relationship with Pertjajah Luhur (PL).  It is 
widely believed that long-time concerns about PL politicians' 
reportedly corrupt practices have damaged NPS and VHP standing with 
the voting public.  The PL, on the other hand, stresses its 
contributions to the ruling government.  Although PL brought six 
National Assembly seats, the PL maintains it helped the NPS gain an 
additional 4 National Assembly seats in 2005 by swinging Javanese 
ethnic voters to the NPS.  Based on this, in 2005, PL Chair Paul 
Somohardjo pushed for the presidency.  His presidential aspirations 
if anything have seemed to grow stronger, which could complicate 
the NPS decision to transfer the presidency to the VHP, if the NPS 
accepts that it needs PL's seats. 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) What is most clear is the apparent unreliability of PL as a 
partner.  On January 6, the media reported Somohardjo had stated he 
would deal with any political coalition in preparing for the 
elections, not just the New Front, especially due to complaints 
from New Front partners about the practices of PL politicians.  One 
tabloid  reported that PL has been reaching out to other ethnic 
 
 
Javanese parties (currently in the Mega-Combination).  On another 
occasion, Somohardjo reportedly said he was willing to have PL 
enter the elections separate from the New Front in order to 
"maintain his friendships," inferring that PL would join the 
coalition after the elections.  Much was read into a January 21 
incident when Somohardjo, who currently serves as the Speaker of 
the National Assembly, did not stop proceedings to announce 
President Venetiaan's arrival and instead left the President 
waiting outside the chamber until the President entered 
unannounced.  Media reports quickly said Somohardjo was trying to 
curry favor with the opposition, but his act was later condemned by 
one opposition party.  Academics have told us that if PL does not 
join the New Front coalition, they expect the VHP in Nickerie 
District to quit the national VHP party and form its own party in 
order to become a coalition partner with PL, all to preserve its 
one National Assembly seat in Nickerie District.  The VHP lost two 
seats in the 2005 elections to other parties due to complaints of 
voters about insufficient land grants; few such complaints have 
been made by VHP constituents with PL heading the Ministry of 
Physical Planning, Land, and Forestry Management. 
 
 
 
¶12. (U) The NPS and VHP relationship with the SPA party has drawn 
less attention.  The SPA party, which ran as a coalition partner 
and won two National Assembly seats in 2005, suffered from massive 
internal problems after its party chair, Siegfried Gilds, was 
convicted of money laundering in 2009.  Gilds stepped down as 
chair, which led to a heated contest between party leaders as to 
who his successor would be -- a fight which ended up in court.  The 
internal SPA upheaval is expected to further reduce its chances of 
winning Assembly seats this year to one or none.  On January 11, 
SPA chair Guno Castelen stating that SPA's relationship with the 
New Front coalition is "a marriage."  January 28 media reports 
stated that Castelen met with Venetiaan to discuss a continued 
relationship and Venetiaan responded that he "was not opposed." 
The results of this discussion have not been formalized. 
 
 
 
¶13. (U) The relationship of NPS and VHP with the A-Combination 
coalition leaves much to be desired.  The A-Combination coalition 
is a thorn in the side of the New Front Plus because it cannot 
credibly campaign against Bouterse as a former military dictator 
due to the terrible track record of its own partner, ABOP chair 
Ronny Brunswijk, during the Interior War and after.  The 
A-Combination also has grown increasingly vocal about its 
dissatisfaction with its ruling coalition partners.  A key policy 
initiative for the A-Combination has been a new national health 
insurance scheme, and the A-Combination has threatened to withdraw 
from the ruling coalition if it is not set in place before the 
elections.  Several other A-Combination initiatives proposed by the 
ministries they control, and which favor their constituents, have 
not been approved by the vice president.  After the A-Combination 
criticized its coalition partners during a January mass rally, 
President Venetiaan responded that he is looking forward to seeing 
if the A-Combination submits its resignation from the coalition 
and, if so, he is fine with that.  In conversation with academics, 
we have heard that it is not clear whether the A-Combination itself 
will stick together, since BEP chair Caprino Allendy is reportedly 
interested in partnering with DA91. 
 
 
 
¶14. (U) The NPS and VHP held their first serious discussions with 
other members of the New Front Coalition on Wednesday, February 3, 
a meeting which reportedly lasted until early morning February 4. 
The media reported that the NPS, VHP, and SPA jointly spoke to the 
press after the meeting, while PL chair Somohardjo announced a 
separate press conference to be held later on February 4. Some 
A-Combination leaders reportedly told media reporters that the 
A-Combination would enter the elections alone, while another 
A-Combination leader said there was still room for cooperation with 
other parties.  The New Front Coalition meeting left few questions 
answered, although more is expected to become apparent over coming 
weeks.  As election day grows nearer, Embassy contacts have 
 
 
commented that the New Front may be doing too little, too late. 
 
 
 
The Mega-Combination 
 
 
 
¶15. (U) In 2005, when the National Democratic Party (NDP), led by 
Desire Bouterse, ran solo for the National Assembly, it landed the 
most National Assembly seats of any single party -- 15.  In 
preparation for 2010, the NDP took to heart the lesson that the 
proportional seat assignment system favors larger coalitions and 
formed the Mega-Combination Coalition.  That is now the largest of 
the formal political coalitions, including the Democratic National 
Platform 2000 (DNP-2000), New Suriname (NS), Kerukunan Tulodo 
Pernatan Inggil (KTPI), Pendawa Lima (PeLi), Party Pembangungan 
Rakjat Suriname (PPRS), and Progressive Laborers and Agrarians 
Union (PALU). 
 
 
 
¶16. (U) The Mega-Combination has supplanted the main 2005 
opposition coalition, the People's Alliance for Improvement (VVV). 
The VVV, which only won five National Assembly seats in 2005, was 
composed of DNP-2000, PPRS, KTPI, PeLi, all of which have since 
joined the Mega-Combination.  Another VVV member, the Basic Party 
for Renewal and Democracy (BVD) originally joined the 
Mega-Combination but withdrew membership (or was kicked out) after 
allegations the BVD was recruiting NDP members.  Not a member of 
the old VVV, the New Suriname Party (NS) joined the 
Mega-Combination and subsequently withdrew.  The Progressive 
Laborers and Agrarians Union (PALU), also a non-VVV member, joined 
the Mega-Combination as well. 
 
 
 
¶17. (U) Embassy interlocutors have told us to keep our eyes on 
former President Jules Wijdenbosch, the charismatic leader of 
DNP-2000 and chair of the 2005 VVV.  In their view, he 
miscalculated when he later agreed for the DNP-2000 to join the 
Mega-Combination.  Sworn enemies, Wijdenbosch and Bouterse 
reconciled in order to form the current coalition.  Bouterse's 2009 
announcement of his own candidacy for president showed clearly, 
however, there is little room for Wijdenbosch's political 
aspirations in the Bouterse-led Mega-Combination.  In 2005, the VVV 
served as an alternative to both the ruling government and to 
Bouterse.  With Wijdenbosch now having little chance of power even 
if Mega-Combination wins, and the loss of the advantage of being 
opposed to Bouterse, DNP-2000 seems likely to lose even more seats 
if it remains in the Mega-Combination.  Embassy contacts predicted 
to us that DNP-2000 will leave the Mega-Combination before election 
day. 
 
 
 
¶18. (U) Regarding Bouterse's 2009 announcement that he would be the 
Mega-Combination's candidate for president if they carry the 
National Assembly elections, academics have told us that no one is 
sure if Bouterse seriously intends to contest for the presidency. 
Some have interpreted this more as a ploy to retain control of the 
Mega-Combination itself, while others say that Bouterse has reached 
the point in his life where he wants the title of president. 
According to our contacts, the most viable NDP presidential 
candidate would likely be National Assembly member Jennifer 
Geerlings-Simons. 
 
 
 
The Midden Blok 
 
 
 
¶19. (U) The Union of Progressive Surinamers party (UPS)and the 
Alternative 1 (A1) Coalition formed a new coalition, the Midden 
Blok (Middle Block) in preparation for the 2010 elections.  In 
 
 
2005, the UPS party had partnered with the Party for Democracy and 
Development in Unity (DOE), which is now running alone.  The A1 
coalition, which ran as its own coalition in 2005, is made up of 
several smaller parties:  Democrats for the 21st century (DN21), 
Alternative Forum (AF), Political Wing of the FAL (PVF), and 
Trefpunt 2000.  Of the A1 Coalition, only the PVF won National 
Assembly seats (two) in 2005. 
 
 
 
¶20. (U) In recent months, the Midden Blok has all but disappeared 
from both news reporting and political discourse.  Embassy contacts 
have told us this is mainly due to the infighting among Midden Blok 
members. It is reported that former VHP policy advisor and current 
UPS chair Henry Ori has had negotiations with the VHP.  Another 
group splintered off the UPS part of the Midden Blok and formed a 
new political party: 1 Suriname.  Originally expected to be a 
strong, third contender in the 2010 elections, the Midden Blok is 
disappearing from the scene as its members look at other coalition 
options.  This development may for all practical purposes turn the 
2010 elections into a two-coalition race. 
 
 
 
The Independent Parties 
 
 
 
¶21. (U) Both the BVD and DOE are planning to enter the elections 
without partners.  The DOE, a political party chaired by the 
brother of the Director of the Democracy Unit at the Anton de Kom 
University of Suriname, has high ideals for party management and a 
political platform, which may account for why it cannot find a 
suitable partner.  The BVD, which is headed by one of Suriname's 
richest men, Dilip Sardjoe, withdrew from the Mega-Combination in 
fall 2009.  Embassy contacts have told us the BVD is in a tight 
position because it originally splintered from the VHP in 2005 
because of its insistence on a Hindustani, and not another NPS-led 
government.  Due to bad blood, it is unlikely the BVD would join 
the New Front again, and it therefore has few options other than to 
go it alone.  There have been rumors, however, that the BVD is 
having discussions with both New Front member VHP and Midden Blok 
member PVF about potential partnerships.  The new "1 Suriname" 
party may also be planning to run alone after breaking from the 
Midden Blok, but it is unclear if the party meets the minimum size 
requirements to participate in the elections.  The New Suriname 
Party is also running solo after quitting the Mega-Combination, but 
may be looking at joining the Midden Blok. 
 
 
 
¶22. (SBU) Comment.  Suriname's 2010 election campaign is shaping up 
to be as complicated as the number of political parties can make 
it.  Both major coalitions have significant vulnerabilities and bad 
characters, but both also can and will make appeals to voters that 
they are best positioned to govern.  The shifting coalitions and 
reports of backroom cross-party negotiations will continue right up 
to the deadline for party and coalition registrations and likely 
beyond.  For now, we are pleased that the campaign seems likely to 
be peaceful and generally well-organized, and voter rolls have been 
carefully reviewed.  We are optimistic the elections will be 
considered free and fair.  As to who will win, with over three 
months to go, Suriname's future political line-up is still anyone's 
guess. 
NAY