At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Suriname

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Runaldo Ronald VENETIAAN *
• Head of Government: Head of Government Runaldo Ronald VENETIAAN
• Assembly: Suriname has a unicameral the National Assembly (Nationale Assemblee) with 51 seats.

* If no presidential or vice presidential candidate receives a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly after two votes, a simple majority is required in the United People's Assembly (Volksvergadering), which consists of 893 representatives from the national, local, and regional councils.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by the National Assembly to serve a 5-year term.
• In the the National Assembly (Nationale Assemblee) 51 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

*** Members are elected to 10 multi-member constituencies. District magnitude is determined by the constitution and not population size.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Ronald VENETIAAN
  • Party: New Front for Democracy and Development / Nieuwe Front voor Democratie en Ontwikkeling (NF)
• Rabin PARMESSAR
  • Party: National Democratic Party / Nationaal Democratische Partij (NDP)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 486,618 (July 2010 est.)
• Registered Voters: 891 (August 2005 Number reflects number of members of People’s Assembly, which is composed of members of parliament, provincial and district councils)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 245,048 (2005)

·         Is Suriname a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Suriname ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (1 March 1993)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 13 (following the 2005 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 103 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/a

Disability Data:

·         Is Suriname a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Suriname ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 73,799 (est.)