Former Suriname dictator looks to have secured presidency

Published on Monday, July 19, 2010

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AFP) -- Former military dictator Desi Bouterse appeared set on Sunday to become president of Suriname after striking an 11th-hour deal with a key bloc of lawmakers. The 50 members of the Dutch-speaking, South American country's National Assembly will choose Monday a new president and vice-president, both elected to a five-year term. Bouterse, 64, heads the National Democratic Party (NDP), which is part of a four-member coalition that won 23 of the 51 seats in May parliamentary elections. Last week, he signed a deal with his former rival Ronny Brunswijk to form a 30-member coalition government, but that still left him four votes short of the mandatory two-thirds majority needed to secure the presidential office. On the eve of the presidential elections, Bouterse looked to have secured the necessary votes by winning the crucial backing of Paul Salam Somohardjo and his six-seat Volks Alliantie party in exchange for cabinet posts. "I trust Bouterse on his word and we get three cabinet ministers positions," Somohardjo said, explaining his support at a party meeting. Bouterse had faced a strong challenge from his main rival Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the current justice minister in the outgoing New Front (NF) government. Santokhi, 51, is a former police commissioner and head of the police department, which investigated Bouterse for cocaine trafficking and murder charges that still hang over the former dictator. Bouterse initially seized power in a military coup in 1980. He stepped down in 1987 but then led a second bloodless coup in 1991. He is on trial for the summary executions of 13 civilians and two military officials in December 1982 and has a court hearing pending on Friday. If convicted, Bouterse could face up to 20 years in prison. His presidential bid is widely seen as a move to avoid imprisonment by granting amnesty to all those involved in the 1982 killings. The Netherlands, the former colonial power, has convicted Bouterse for cocaine trafficking and has an international warrant out for his arrest that complicates any moves by the ex-dictator to leave the country. Bouterse was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 1999 by the Dutch courts for smuggling 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of cocaine.