At stake in this election:

• 51 seats in the the National Assembly (Nationale Assemblee)

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 from 10 multi-member constituencies. District magnitudes are set in the constitution.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Front (NF) / Nieuw Front*
  • Leader: Ronald VENETIAAN
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Nationale Democratische Partij (NDP) / Nationaal Democratische Partij
  • Leader: Desiré Delano BOUTERSE
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Party for Democracy and Development through Unity / Partij voor Democratie en Ontwikkeling door Eenheid
  • Seats won in last election: 3
  • Alliance: A-Combinatie (A-Com)****
• Seats won in last election: 5
  • Alliance: People's Alliance for Progress / Volksalliantie Voor Vooruitgang (VVV)*****
  • Leader: Jules WIJDENBOSCH
• Seats won in last election: 5
  • Party: Democratic Union Suriname
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Alliance: Basic Party for Renewal and Democracy/Political Wing of the Federation of Workers and Farmers / Basispartij voor Vernieuwing en Democratie/Politieke Vleugel van de Federatie van agrariërs en landarbeiders (BVD/FAL)
  • Seats won in last election: 5
• Party: Permanent Prosperity Republic of Suriname
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: National Union
  • Seats won in last election: 0

* Is largest member of ruling Niew Front Plus alliance.
**** A-Combinatie is a member of the ruling Nieuw Front Plus alliance. It is itself an alliance of Broederschap en Eenheid in de Politiek and Algemene Bevrijdings en Ontwikkeling Partij.
***** The VVV consists of the Democratic National Platform 2000 (Democratisch Nationaal Platform 2000), the Basic Party for Renewal and Democracy (Basispartij voor Vernieuwing en Democratie) and the Party for National Unity and Solidarity (Kerukanan Tulodo Pranatan Ingit)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 518,141 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 324,490 (May 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 258,283 (2010)

·         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: 5 (following the 2010 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: 77,721 (est.)