Political and administrative structure

Suriname es una República cuyo Poder Ejecutivo está vinculado al Parlamento. El Presidente es electo indirectamente por la mayoría calificada (dos tercios) de los miembros de la Asamblea Nacional. Si la mayoría no es alcanzada luego de dos vueltas, la Asamblea Unida del Pueblo, que reúne más de 800 legisladores de la Asamblea Nacional y los concejos Distritales y Locales, elige el presidente por mayoría simple.

El país se divide en diez (10) distritos.

National parliament

Unicameral National Legislature (National Assembly).

Municipal government

State / Provincial Executive: Locally elected District Councils, presided over by District Commissioners. District Commissioners are appointed by the President.

Duration of terms

President and Vice-President, elected by the National Assembly: 5 years; National Assembly and District Councils: 5 years.

Representation system

Nationale Assemblee (National Assembly): Proportional: Party list system (open-list proportional representation). Candidates are elected by proportional representation on a largest average formula basis with preferential votes. In each constituency, the first seat is awarded to the political party having obtained the highest number of votes. The remaining seats are awarded to the party with the highest average number of votes. In each party list, the candidate(s) having obtained the most preferential votes are declared elected. Vacancies arising between general elections are filled by substitutes, according to the order of names on each party list.

Voting is not compulsory.

Type of list

Asamblea Nacional (De Nationale Assemblée): Listas abiertas.

Electoral constituency

Nationale Assemblee (National Assembly): 10 multi-member constituencies (between 2 and 17 seats each).

Quota and parity laws

No.

Legal instruments applicable to municipalities

Órgano de Gestión Electoral de tipo mixto. El Ministerio de Interior, a través de la Central Main Pooling Station (CHS), es responsable por la conducción de las elecciones, pero existe una institución permanente semi-independiente, el concejo Electoral Independiente (OKB), que es responsable por observar actividades pre-electorales y la validación de los resultados.