Volkswacht Bodensee - Geerlings-Simons set to be Suriname's first woman president

The move cleared the way for legislators to elect Geerlings-Simons, 71, in a vote scheduled for Sunday, after her party won the most seats in legislative elections in May.

The former Dutch colony of 600,000 inhabitants, one of the poorest countries in South America, is hoping that an oil boon will bring prosperity.

Geerlings-Simons' National Democratic Party (NDP) won 18 of the 51 seats in congress, more than those of the centrist VHP party of outgoing president Chan Santokhi.

The NDP had already entered into an agreement with five other parties with which it jointly holds 34 seats in parliament.

The NDP was founded by former coup leader and autocrat-turned-elected-president Desi Bouterse, who died in hiding in December 2024.

Santokhi's party had also hoped to form a coalition to remain in power, but said in a statement that it had decided not to oppose Geerlings-Simons' election.

Parliament Speaker Ashin Adhin told reporters that the legislature had received only the NDP's nomination, supported by 34 legislators, the necessary supermajority.

Suriname, a diverse country made up of descendants of people from India, Indonesia, China, the Netherlands, Indigenous groups and African slaves, marks its 50th anniversary of independence from the Dutch throne this November.

In recent years, it has looked increasingly toward 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.

K.Hofmann--VB