Suriname's Parliament elects country's first female President amid economic turmoil

Suriname's Parliament connected Sunday (July 6, 2025) elected doc Jennifer Geerlings-Simons arsenic the troubled country's archetypal pistillate President.

The South American country's National Assembly chooses the President by a two-thirds vote. Geerlings-Simons, a congresswoman, ran unopposed aft her enactment formed a conjugation aimed astatine ousting the country's existent person pursuing a May predetermination with nary wide winner.

The conjugation was formed arsenic the troubled state prepares for an influx of wealthiness pursuing the find of large offshore lipid deposits, with the archetypal accumulation expected by 2028.

Geerlings-Simons, who leads the National Democratic Party, volition beryllium inaugurated arsenic President of the Dutch-speaking state of much than 646,000 radical connected July 16.

"I americium alert that the dense task I person taken connected is further aggravated by the information that I americium the archetypal pistillate to service the state successful this position," she said aft the election.

The five-year word of President Chandrikapersad Santokhi has been riddled with corruption scandals, and helium was forced to telephone connected the International Monetary Fund to get Suriname's system backmost connected track.

As a result, the country's nationalist indebtedness was mostly restructured and authorities subsidies importantly reduced. Macroeconomically, Santokhi achieved success, but radical groaned nether the austerity measures, which sparked convulsive protests.

Geerlings-Simons, 71, and her moving mate, Gregory Rusland, connected Sunday told reporters they volition prioritise stabilising the country's finances. She had antecedently indicated an involvement successful expanding authorities revenues by, among different things, improving taxation collections, including successful the small-scale gold-mining sector.

Winston Ramautarsingh, erstwhile president of Suriname's Association of Economists, said Geerlings-Simons volition look superior challenges successful the years earlier the state produces its archetypal barrels of oil, successful portion due to the fact that it indispensable repay astir $400 cardinal annually successful loans and interest.

"Suriname does not person that money," helium said. "The erstwhile authorities rescheduled the debts, but that was lone a postponement."