Suriname: Political Parties Lack Fiscal Transparency and

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000020

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL NS
SUBJECT: Suriname: Political Parties Lack Fiscal Transparency and
Internal Democratic Processes

REF: 09 PARAMARIBO 85; 09 PARAMARIBO 287


1. (SBU) Summary. With interest in Suriname's May 2010 elections
primarily focused on the drama among Suriname's political parties,
especially on whether former military dictator Desi Bouterse plans
to run for president while he stands trial for murder, little
attention is paid to the basic elements of party democracy.
Suriname's political parties demonstrate little to no internal
democracy, as each party's old guard strangles any move to elect a
new chair or to chart an upward path for up-and-coming leaders. Nor
is there transparency on the source of financial contributions to
parties. Even with some parties starting to break away from
Suriname's historically ethnic-based politics, power-brokering,
coalition-building, backroom deals, and nepotism still dominate.
The lack of these key elements in part explains why predicting
alliances and the outcome is challenging, as Suriname's May 2010
elections unfold. End Summary.




2. (SBU) In a recent meeting with PolOff, an Embassy contact from
the Democracy Unit at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname
(ADEK) referred to Suriname's political parties as "election
machines," and asserted that the parties are active only once every
five years (at election time). According to Dr. Hans Breeveld,
Surinamese political parties have no vision on society, no
platform, and do not reach out to the public on issues -- they are
merely practical entities that exist to get elected and have no
true political ideology.




3. (SBU) Breeveld explained that since the 1987 Decree "Law on
Political Parties," although political parties are required to
publish an annual report on their finances, political parties now
avoid this by keeping their money in "foundations." Funding
sources for these foundations are not transparent (whether it is
from foreign donors (Ref A),from international businesses, or from
illicit activities such as narcotics trafficking or money
laundering),nor is it transparent to whom favors will later be
owed. Political parties are sometimes not even transparent on
sources of funding within their leadership, and even the party's
treasurer may not know the source of the funding. A businessman
may, for example, meet with a political party chair with no one
else present. Later, if the chair claims the businessman donated
$75,000, there is no evidence of how much money was really handed
over or what promises were made in exchange for the money. The
lack of transparency on donations has resulted in a climate where
power is held by party financers and not by the voters.




4. (SBU) In most Suriname political parties the chair of the party
can retain his/her position as long as desired. Often the party
seems to exist primarily to support the chair's political
aspirations. In addition, with the exception of two political
parties, regular internal elections for party leadership are not
held, preventing any leadership change or development of
up-and-coming leaders within the party. Breeveld explained that
this arose from Suriname's political history of emancipation
politics. Democracy within the party was not the priority; rather,
the priority was to improve the political and socioeconomic status
of the party's (usually ethnic) constituents. The constituents
tended to be loyal to the party in exchange for the progress of
their ethnic, socioeconomic class. This system of emancipation
politics served an important role in democratizing and equalizing
Suriname's society (in essence, according to Breeveld, moving power
from the whites and mulattos and redistributing it more evenly.)
This system helped keep Suriname stable and at peace despite the
many ethnic groups in the country.




5. (SBU) At the same time, this multiple, no majority political
party system may have disadvantaged Suriname in some respects by
delaying government progress on a number of fronts, resulting in
social harmony without development. Government employees are often
hired based on ethnicity or political party membership rather than
on competency, education, or work experience. Political appointees
fill positions at all levels of the government.




6. (SBU) Breeveld indicated however that past loyalties to ethnic
Internal Democratic Processes

political parties are beginning to disappear. He gave the examples
of eroding support for the National Party of Suriname (NPS)and the
United Reform Party (VHP),among Creole and East Indian voters,
respectively. The usual ethnic support base for these two
prominent parties has begun to decline with the emergence of a
younger electorate that takes its higher education and economic
opportunities for granted. He contrasted this with political
parties catering to Javanese and Maroon ethnicities. Because these
population groups remain by comparison less affluent, the voters
still remain mostly loyal to the ethnic-based political parties
that promise them better opportunities.




7. (SBU) Comment: Transparency of and democratization within
political parties are missing elements in Suriname's democracy.
The lack of these elements will impact how Suriname's May 2010
election process unfolds. While certain topics, such as ethnic
politics, are widely discussed in Suriname, some simpler democratic
fundamentals go overlooked.
NAY