Latest news with #oilboom
CNN
06-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Suriname parliament elects first female president
Suriname's parliament backed Jennifer Simons as the South American country's first woman president on Sunday, setting the doctor and former parliamentary speaker on course to helm a nation on the cusp of a predicted oil boom. Surinamese lawmakers backed Simons as president six weeks after the ruling party and its top opposition nearly tied in the race for legislative seats, leading to a coalition deal to install Simons as president. Simons' opposition National Democratic Party won 18 seats and current President Chan Santokhi's Progressive Reform Party won 17 seats in the May 25 parliamentary election. Smaller parties won the remaining 16 seats. Suriname's president is elected indirectly. Following the general election, members of the National Assembly vote for the president, and a candidate must secure a two-thirds majority to win the office. 'I come into this office to serve, and I will use all my knowledge, strength and insight to make our wealth available to all of our people,' Simons, 71, said in a brief speech after lawmakers approved her appointment with a round of applause. Simons vowed to pay special attention to young people and those who have not yet had the best opportunities. 'I am very aware of the responsibility now placed on our shoulders, a responsibility compounded for me by the fact that I am the first woman to hold this office,' she added. 'I do not need many words. My thanks and we will get to work.' Incumbent President Chan Santokhi, a 66-year-old former police commissioner who stood for re-election, had faced criticism over a lack of protections for the poorer and more vulnerable sectors of society. Santokhi congratulated Simons on her election and told lawmakers he took responsibility for his shortcomings and hoped he would be remembered for his commitment. He said he would continue to serve the country after the transition as a member of parliament. Suriname, a former Dutch colony independent since 1975, is expected to see a surge in revenues from the nation's first big offshore energy development, an oil and gas project led by TotalEnergies The Gran Morgu project is set to begin production in 2028. Discovered reserves may allow Suriname to compete with neighboring Guyana, whose economy grew 43.6% last year, as a prominent producer. However, campaigning featured little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with the income. Simons' election was agreed in a six-party deal two days after the parliamentary contest, but was not made official until Sunday's vote. Her inauguration is scheduled for July 16. Suriname's parliament backed Simons for the post by acclamation, alongside National Party of Suriname (NPS) leader Gregory Rusland as her vice president. Simons served as parliamentary speaker for a decade until 2020. She was second in vote tallies behind Santokhi, winning more than 41,700 votes. She is the head of the NDP, founded by former President Desi Bouterse, who dominated Surinamese politics for decades but died a fugitive last year. NDP founder Bouterse left office in 2020, the year after he was convicted in the 1982 murders of 15 government critics. When the conviction was upheld in 2023, Bouterse went into hiding, dying at the age of 79 at an unknown location on Christmas Eve.
CNN
06-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Suriname parliament elects first female president
Suriname's parliament backed Jennifer Simons as the South American country's first woman president on Sunday, setting the doctor and former parliamentary speaker on course to helm a nation on the cusp of a predicted oil boom. Surinamese lawmakers backed Simons as president six weeks after the ruling party and its top opposition nearly tied in the race for legislative seats, leading to a coalition deal to install Simons as president. Simons' opposition National Democratic Party won 18 seats and current President Chan Santokhi's Progressive Reform Party won 17 seats in the May 25 parliamentary election. Smaller parties won the remaining 16 seats. Suriname's president is elected indirectly. Following the general election, members of the National Assembly vote for the president, and a candidate must secure a two-thirds majority to win the office. 'I come into this office to serve, and I will use all my knowledge, strength and insight to make our wealth available to all of our people,' Simons, 71, said in a brief speech after lawmakers approved her appointment with a round of applause. Simons vowed to pay special attention to young people and those who have not yet had the best opportunities. 'I am very aware of the responsibility now placed on our shoulders, a responsibility compounded for me by the fact that I am the first woman to hold this office,' she added. 'I do not need many words. My thanks and we will get to work.' Incumbent President Chan Santokhi, a 66-year-old former police commissioner who stood for re-election, had faced criticism over a lack of protections for the poorer and more vulnerable sectors of society. Santokhi congratulated Simons on her election and told lawmakers he took responsibility for his shortcomings and hoped he would be remembered for his commitment. He said he would continue to serve the country after the transition as a member of parliament. Suriname, a former Dutch colony independent since 1975, is expected to see a surge in revenues from the nation's first big offshore energy development, an oil and gas project led by TotalEnergies The Gran Morgu project is set to begin production in 2028. Discovered reserves may allow Suriname to compete with neighboring Guyana, whose economy grew 43.6% last year, as a prominent producer. However, campaigning featured little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with the income. Simons' election was agreed in a six-party deal two days after the parliamentary contest, but was not made official until Sunday's vote. Her inauguration is scheduled for July 16. Suriname's parliament backed Simons for the post by acclamation, alongside National Party of Suriname (NPS) leader Gregory Rusland as her vice president. Simons served as parliamentary speaker for a decade until 2020. She was second in vote tallies behind Santokhi, winning more than 41,700 votes. She is the head of the NDP, founded by former President Desi Bouterse, who dominated Surinamese politics for decades but died a fugitive last year. NDP founder Bouterse left office in 2020, the year after he was convicted in the 1982 murders of 15 government critics. When the conviction was upheld in 2023, Bouterse went into hiding, dying at the age of 79 at an unknown location on Christmas Eve.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Suriname parliament elects Jennifer Simons as first female president
Suriname's parliament backed Jennifer Simons as the South American country's first woman president on Sunday, setting the doctor and former parliamentary speaker on course to helm a nation on the cusp of a predicted oil boom Advertisement Surinamese lawmakers backed Simons as president six weeks after the ruling party and its top opposition nearly tied in the race for legislative seats, leading to a coalition deal to install Simons as president. Simons' opposition National Democratic Party won 18 seats and current President Chan Santokhi's Progressive Reform Party won 17 seats in the May 25 parliamentary election. Smaller parties won the remaining 16 seats. Suriname's president is elected indirectly. Following the general election, members of the National Assembly vote for the president and a candidate must secure a two-thirds majority to win the office. 'I come into this office to serve, and I will use all my knowledge, strength and insight to make our wealth available to all of our people,' Simons, 71, said in a brief speech after lawmakers approved her appointment with a round of applause. Advertisement Simons vowed to pay special attention to young people and those who have not yet had the best opportunities.
Bloomberg
06-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Suriname's President Vows to Make Oil Wealth ‘Available to All'
Suriname officially elected its first female president as the small, Dutch-speaking nation on the Caribbean coast of South America prepares to navigate an oil boom. Lawmakers backed Jennifer Geerlings-Simons and her vice president, Gregory Rusland, on Sunday in the Surinamese capital of Paramaribo after the incumbent party opted against putting forward a challenger.
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Oil riches are on the horizon as Suriname chooses its next government
Voters in Suriname, which is on the cusp of a much anticipated oil boom, have begun to elect a new parliament, which will subsequently choose the next president of the smallest nation in South America. Sunday's elections have already been marked by fraud allegations and have seen little debate about what the next government, which will hold power until 2030, should do with income from the offshore oil and gas Gran Morgu project. It is to begin production in 2028. Experts said Suriname, a country beset by poverty and rampant inflation, is projected to make billions of dollars in the coming decade or two from recently discovered offshore crude deposits. The project, led by TotalEnergies, is Suriname's first major offshore effort. The former Dutch colony, independent since 1975, discovered reserves that may allow it to compete with neighbouring Guyana – whose economy grew 43.6 percent last year – as a prominent producer. 'It will be a huge amount of income for the country,' President Chan Santokhi told the AFP news agency this week. 'We are now able … to do more for our people, so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation.' Santokhi is constitutionally eligible for a second term, but with no single party in a clear lead in the elections, pollsters are not predicting the outcome. The party with the most seats will lead Suriname's next government, likely through a coalition with smaller parties, but negotiations and the choosing of a new president are expected to take weeks. Fourteen parties are taking part in the elections, including Santokhi's centrist Progressive Reform Party and the leftist National Democratic Party of deceased former coup leader and elected President Desi Bouterse. Also in the running is the centre-left General Liberation and Development Party of Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk, a former rebel who fought against Bouterse's government in the 1980s. Provisional results are expected by late Sunday. Suriname – a diverse country made up of descendants of people from India, Indonesia, China, the Netherlands, Indigenous groups and enslaved Africans – will mark the 50th anniversary of its independence from the Netherlands in November. Since independence, it has looked increasingly towards 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. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a stopover in Suriname in March on a regional tour aimed at countering China's growing influence in the region. More than 90 percent of the country is covered in forest, and it is one of few in the world with a negative carbon footprint. Santokhi insisted this status is not in danger and Suriname can use its oil windfall 'for the transition towards the green energy which we need, also because we know the fossil energy is limited'. 'It will be gone after 40 years.'
