Suriname (officially the Republic of Suriname, Republiek Suriname) has been an independent
State since 25 November 1975. Anchored in the current Constitution, which was adopted in
1987,1
is the principle that ‘all political power is vested in the people and shall be exercised in
accordance with the Constitution’.2
Representation of the people in the political democracy is
made by ‘general, free and secret elections’.3 Free elections, according to Polanen, reflects
the absence of any outside influences on the voter in the determination of his or her choices.4
Similarly, he describes secret elections as meaning that ‘no one need know how the voter has
cast his vote’.5
Finally, Polanen notes that Suriname also respects the principle of general
elections, meaning that ‘all citizens may exercise their right to vote’ without discrimination.6
In Suriname, the franchise is primarily governed by the Constitution7
and the
Electoral Law.8
Other important legislative documents include the Electoral Decree,9
and the
Decree Political Organisations. 10 The Constitution establishes legislative representative
bodies in national (National Assembly, De Nationale Assemblée), 11 regional and local
levels.12 Electoral Districts play a key role in the elections for these bodies. For the national
elections, Suriname is divided into ten Electoral Districts (Kiesdistricten).13 The boundaries
for the Electoral Districts correspond to the boundaries of the administrative Districts of
Suriname.14 For elections at the local level, the Electoral Districts are further divided into
individual constituencies (ressorten).