THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
OF
THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME
S.Fr. Polanen LL.M.
Paramaribo 1988
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page1. / INTRODUCTION / 1
2. / SUFFRAGE / 4
3. / THE ELECTIONS / 5
3.1. / Geographical Territories
3.2. / The institutions which have to give guidance to the elections / 5
3.3. / Registration of Political Organizations
3.4. / The Public Registers and their Function / 6
3.5. / Nomination / 7
4. / THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM / 10
5. / VOTING / 12
6. / ELECTORAL COMPUTATIONS / 14
7. / THE TASKS OF THE MAIN POLLING STATION IN
DETERMINING THE RESULTS OF THE [=LECTION / 17
8. / THE DETERMINATION OF THE RESUL7 S OF THE
ELECTIONS FOR THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY / 22
8.1. / Computation / 22
8.2. / Announcing the Results of the Elections / 24
8.3. / The Function of the Official Report in virtue of Article 133
of the Electoral Law / 25
1. INTRODUCTION
On 31 March 1987 the Government Leader officially announced in a session of the National Assembly that elections for the composition of the representative bodies would be held in Suriname on 25 November 1987. Before these elections were to take place, a referendum would be held, during which the people would be asked to give their view on the draft Constitution. The referendum was held, and the majority of the people gave their approval. The Constitution was enforced in October 1987 and thereupon became operative.
Chapter IX of the Constitution lays down a number of principles for the democratic organization of the state, which are of a particular nature. For, these principles were first laid down in the advice of the Advisory Group. The Government adopted the advice of the Advisory Group and declared that it was of such importance that it was to be considered a binding advice. The legislative body thereupon did not hesitate to include the following passage in the Explanatory Note to the Decree on Political Organizations:
"The principles laid down in the draft [of the Constitution] have been adopted and should be regarded as a guideline for social life in Suriname. In exercising authority, the political organizations should take into account the following [Article 53 of the Constitution]..."
The above-mentioned decree is dated 22 September 1987, while the Constitution is dated 30 September, and only became operative on 30 October. Furthermore, these principles served as point of departure for the structure of the electoral system.
The electoral system is the collection of rules, procedures and methods according to which elections for the representative bodies should be organized. The purpose of the electoral system is to give the electorate the opportunity to determine in a democratic manner who should be responsible for their material and spiritual interests during a certain period of time.
The electoral system as referred to in the Constitution is expressed in the following:
1.The Decree concerning compulsory registration of citizens (based on Article 54 of the Constitution)
2.The Decree on political organizations (based on Article 53 of the Constitution)
3.The Electoral Law (based on Articles 60 and 61 of the Constitution). 4. The Decree concerning the district boundaries (based on Articles
160 and 162 of the Constitution)
5.The Decree concerning the boundaries of constituencies (based on Articles 160 and 162 of the Constitution).
The Electoral Law is the key to the practical organization of the elections. The institutions, authority, terms, manner of voting and the manner in which results are to be determined, are laid down therein. The influence of the electoral system should not be underestimated. It is not only expressed in the composition of the representative bodies, but includes, among other things also:
a. b. c. d. e.
the relationship between voter and elected person the number and nature of the political parties
the election of the President and Vice-President the establishment of the Government
the relationship between the Government and the National Assembly.
The principle which underlies political democracy has been formulated in Article 52, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Constitution.
The provisions are as follows:
1.The political power rests with the people and is exercised in accordance with the Constitution.
2.Political democracy is characterized by participation and representation of the people of Suriname, which finds expression in the participation of the people in determining a democratic political system, as well as participation in legislation and government, aimed at maintenance and development of this system.
The political democracy furthermore sets the conditions for participation of the people in general, free and secret elections for thecomposition of the representative bodies and of the Government.
The National Assembly, the Local Councils and the District Councils are called representative bodies and are established by, respectively, Articles 55 and 61 of the Constitution, which read as follows:
Article 55
1.The National Assembly represents the people of the Republic of Suriname and expresses the sovereign will of the nation.
2.The National Assembly is the highest state body.
Article 61
1.On a regional level there are two representative bodies, the District Councils and the Local Councils.
2.A District Council is the highest politico-administrative body of the district.
3.A Local Council is the highest politico-administrative body of the constituency.
Articles 169, 70, 72 and 73 of the Constitution regulate mainly the authorities of the National Assembly. In short, what has been regulated is that the National Assembly and the Government together form the legislative power. Article 72 sub b lays down that amendments of the Constitution must take place by law. Furthermore, the National Assembly's task is also to choose a President and a Vice-President within 60 days after the elections (Article 74).
On the recommendation of the Advisory Group as well, the writers of the Constitution have laid down that the participation of the people should not be restricted to a national level, but that the people should also participate at a regional level in determining the democratic political system and the maintenance and development of this system by means of legislation and administration. In execution of the Constitution, organic laws shall be laid down, by which legislative and administrative authority will be awarded to the regional bodies, these being the District Council, the District Administration and the Local Councils (see Chapters XXI, XXII and XXIII of the Constitution, and Articles 159 through 176).
2. SUFFRAGE
As I already indicated in paragraph 1, the Electoral Law is the key to the organization of the elections, and the Electoral Law is based on the principles laid down in the Constitution of 30 September 1987. For, who are really involved in the elections? In the first place, the electorate. These are the people who have to make a choice from the candidates nominated by the political parties. The Constitution itself determines who is entitled to vote. Every Surinamese national who lives in Suriname and is at least 18 years old on the day on which the voters' lists are administratively closed, is entitled to vote. Persons who are deprived of the right to vote
by means of a final decision of the court, or who no longer have this right in view of the fact that they are insane, unable to manage or avail themselves of their property, or who are legally imprisoned, are not entitled to vote. By regulating this in the chapter entitled Principles of a Democratic Organization of the State, the writers of the Constitution have given a special meaning to this. The legislators who wish to maintain a democratic organization, will have to respect these principles.
In order to have the greatest number of voters participate in the elections, Article 54 of the Constitution lays down the possibility to have the voters registered. The Decree concerning the compulsory registration of citizens is a result thereof. The voter who has complied with this decree is entitled to vote. Someone is entitled to vote if he has an identity card and proof of registration. The State - as Article 54 further lays down - is obliged to have the voters entered in a register (Article 13 of the Electoral Law) and to have them summoned for participation in the elections (by means of a polling card).
According to Article 16 of the Electoral Law, the register of voters should be the basis for the voters' lists. The voters' lists should give the voters per district as well as per constituency. If the State does not comply with these obligations the voter may take the matter to court.
3.THE ELECTIONS
3.1.Geographical Territories
In order to facilitate the organization of the elections, the Electoral Law has laid down the following in Article 24.
For the elections of the members of the National Assembly, Suriname shall be divided into electoral districts, whose boundaries shall be the same as those of the present geographical districts. For the elections of the members of the Local Councils, the districts shall be sub-divided into constituencies, whose boundaries shall be determined by decree ( Decree A-26, Official Gazette 1987 no.67).
This division has also been followed in Article 16 of the Electoral Law, according to which the voters' lists are composed for the geographical divisions of electoral district and constituency.
3.2.The Institutions which have to give guidance to the elections
With the same territories as point of departure, the legislator has, finally, laid down that at least one ballot box should be placed in each administrative jurisdiction.
Each polling station has five members and three deputy members. It may only perform its work within the appointed constituency. The responsibilities of the polling station are laid down in the Electoral Law and the Franchise Law.
A main polling station comprises five members and three deputy members. It may only perform its work in the appointed district. Its responsibilities shall comprise, among other things:
a.supervision of the polling stations in the electoral district
b.evaluation of the lists of candidates for the elections of the members of the National Assembly, the Local Councils within its district, and the District Councils.
3.3.Registration of Political Organizations
According to the definition of the electoral system, voters should vote in an organized manner. The Decree on Political Organizations has laid down a number of rules in execution of the principles which have been laid down in Article 53 of the Constitution. The point of departure here is that it is no longer desirable to have just any group of persons who call themselves an organization of voters, participate in the elections. The importance and the influence of the electoral system are too great to leave this to random organizations, which are established just before the elections or come to life then.
The legislator has therefore chosen for political organizations with a democratic structure, whose purpose is to carry out and realize democracy, who are a legal entity and who can submit membership lists of at least 1% of the total number of voters in Suriname.
The political organizations must register in a public register which is kept by the Independent Electoral Council. After the registration they may participate in the elections, submit lists of candidates, and be heard by the President in case of the formation of a cabinet, if new elections are to be held, and if a referendum is to be held in case of threat of war, war danger, state of emergency and other extraordinary circumstances.
3.4.The Public Registers and Their Function
A precondition to be able to participate in the elections as a political organization is the entry in the public registers. The first public register is kept by the Independent Electoral Council.
All organizations which want to function as political organizations are obliged to enter in this register. The legislator has thus wanted to order political life. For matters of great importance are involved, namely democracy and the realization of the permanent democratic structures. The one percent regulation is a second possibility to bring about organization.
The second public register is not laid down in the Decree on Political
Organizations, but in the Electoral Regulation (Article 31, paragraph 1). This register is kept by the Central Polling Authority. Entry in this register is a precondition to actually participate in the elections. When the lists of candidates are submitted, evidence of entry in this register should be submitted. Entry in the register in virtue of Article 31 of the Electoral Law shall be refused if the political organization cannot show that it is a recognized political organization. Evidence can be given by means of a certificate issued by the Independent Electoral Council that the organization concerned is entered in its register. In this manner, a relationship exists between the two registers.
In short, the political organization which is entered in the register of the Independent Electoral Council is authorized to participate in the elections, but is not obliged to do so. If the political organization wants to participate in the elections, it must enter in the register in virtue of Article 31 of the Electoral Law.
3.5. Nomination
Nomination should be considered as the most important act at the beginning of the actual elections. If an election is to be meaningful, the voter must be able to make a choice from a number of candidates for the representative bodies. In short, without a list of candidates, an election is impossible. The legislator has determined that political organizations should submit lists of candidates to the main polling stations of each electoral district. This applies to the submission of the lists for the composition of the National Assembly, the Local Councils, as well as the District Councils. The main polling station of the electoral district concerned plays a central role in this.
The list must meet the following requirements:
a.it should be signed by members of the executive council who are entitled to vote;
b.it should be provided with the name of the political organization and the party symbol, insofar as this has been registered;
c.candidates should be placed on the list with their names, first letters of the first names, and their address; the order is determined by the political organization;
d.a candidate's name may not appear on more than one list;
e.the maximum number of candidates per list is determined by the following:
1.in case of elections for members of the National Assembly, the separate districts may elect candidates for the following number of seats:
• Paramaribo / 17 seats• Wanica District / 7 seats
• Nickerie District / 5 seats
• Commewijne District / 4 seats
• Sipaliwini District / 4 seats
• Brokopondo District / 3 seats
• Marowijne District / 3 seats
• Para District / 3 seats
• Saramacca District / 3 seats
• Coronie District / 2 seats
The political organizations may place as many candidates on their lists as there are available seats for the elections per district in their electoral district, plus, if they wish, another ten extra candidates at most;
2. in case of the appointment (not the election) of the members of
the District Council, the same manner of calculation shall be
used as mentioned in 1e;
3.in case of the election of members of the Local Council, the number of candidates may not exceed the number of seats on the Local Council.
NB.
The number of seats per District Council and Local Council is determined on the basis of the number of inhabitants, and will therefore differ according to the number of inhabitants per district or constituency (for example, the District Council of Saramacca has 9 seats and the Local Council of Kampongbaroe has 9 seats; the District Council of Coronie has 7 seats and the Local Council of Totness has 9 seats).
f.The candidates should have submitted a certificate to the political
organization which nominates them, from which it appears that they
have given their permission and have agreed with their nomination; g. a candidate may not be nominated outside the constituency or
district where he lives. This indicates the tie between the voter and
the nominee;
h.the list should be submitted by persons who are authorized by the political organization whom they represent, to do so. If this requirement cannot be met, the main polling station could take measures in their assessment of the validity of the list.
Such measures may vary from providing the opportunity to rectify the omission, to striking off a candidate, to declaring the whole list invalid. If the political organization does not agree with the decisions of the main polling station, it may appeal this with the President. The President's decision shall determine what should be done in final instance, that is to say, maintain the decision of the main polling station or revoke this decision in whole or in part and give a new decision.
The decisions of the main polling station are taken in public sessions, and are thus open to everyone. The President's decisions shall be published in the Government Advertiser of the Republic of Suriname ( see Government Advertiser 1987 nos. 83,86,93).
After the lists of candidates have been found in order by the main polling station, they are collected on a joint list and published in the Government Advertiser of the Republic of Suriname. The order of the lists shall be determined by drawing lots. The same order shall be used for the lay-out of the ballots. The drawing of lots shall take place in a public session.
The lists of candidates must be submitted on the day of nomination. This day is determined by the President. On that occasion the President shall also determine the day of the elections.