Chamber:
	Nationale Assemblee
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	25 May 2000
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body. General elections had previously been held in May 1996.
Background and outcome of elections:
	President Jules Wijdenbosch called the 25 May 2000 elections a year earlier to quell street demonstrations demanding his resignation after the economy collapsed (his government had failed to curb 70 per cent annual inflation) and after widespread resignations from his Cabinet had left him with a minority in the National Assembly. A total of 265,000 Surinamese were eligible to cast their ballots for the 602 candidates of 17 parties and coalitions. Former President Ronald Venetiaans's opposition four-party coalition, the new Front for Democracy (NF) succeeded in attracting members of different ethnic groups by putting forward a programme calling for a rapprochement with the Netherlands, the former colonial power. Many voters associated the country's economic recession (characterised by high levels of poverty, a considerable drop in the value of the local currency and high inflation) with President Wijdenbosh's coalition. The NF won three times as many seats (32) as its closest rival, the Millennium Combination, an alliance of the National Democratic Party (NDP) - headed by Mr. Désiré Bouterse, who had ruled Suriname between 1980 and 1987 - and two smaller parties, which won 10 seats. The Democratic National Platform 2000, headed by outgoing President Wijdenbosch, came in third with 3 seats. The remaining six seats went to smaller parties. The President and Vice-President are elected by a two-thirds majority, or 34 seats, in the National Assembly. On 12 August 2000, Mr. Ronald Venetiaan was sworn in as the new President of the country.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (25 May 2000): Elections results
Number of registered electors	265 000
Voters	70%

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
New Front for Democracy (NF)	47.30
Millennium Combination	15.10
Democratic National Platform 2000	10.00
Democratic Alternative '91	6.10
Political Wing of the FAL	4.10
Otherss	n.a.

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
New Front for Democracy (NF)	32
Millennium Combination	10
Democratic National Platform 2000	3
Democratic Alternative '91	2
Political Wing of the FAL	2
Otherss	2

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	42
Women:	9
Percent of women:	17.65