2020 ELECTIONS SURINAME
Monday the 25th of May:
A partial impression of the elections at a few polling stations in the capital city Paramaribo. The two major competing parties were President Desire Bouterse’ purple colored NDP (National Democratic Party) and Chan Santokhi’s orange colored VHP (Progressive Reform Party).
Symbolic and striking is the financially questionable and excessive NDP propaganda (sun roof woman) versus the urgent need of even a very elderly wheelchair woman (VHP) to vote for change: a better future. If not for her, for her grandchildren.
Wednesday the 27th of May:
The largest national indoor stadium (Anthony Nesty Sports Hall) was the temporary location of the Principal Electoral Committee (PEC) of Paramaribo.
The processing of the official reports (processen-verbaal) was under constant surveillance, 24-hours-a-day, by the public who was only allowed in the stands.
Fed by suspicion of fraud and long breaks as delays of the PEC, public turmoil increased every day, if not every hour.
To the frustration of many, the Wednesday May 27th working day, started with a 5-hour-delay between 14:00 and 15:00.
Ten days later, Thursday the 4th of June 2020, Paramaribo was finally finished . . . Suriname’s electoral authorities announced the preliminary results: VHP 20 versus NDP 16 of the 51 seats.
During my 5 minutes aerial shots I was heavily yelled at by a large cluster of NDP-supporters from a nearby stand and asked by official ground personnel to immediately stop taking photos. Subsequently the district officer in charge stopped the uproar. Loudspeaker-powered he politely warned the spectators to prevent further “ disruptions “ which delayed and “ disturbed “ the election work force. After being taken separately by a few police officers to show my footage, I was quickly “ released “ after I told them that:
1. My interest was not in capturing and reading the official reports (fully zoomed-in NOT readable), but merely my interest in the aerial view of people working.
2. The official reports were scheduled to be online anytime by the Independent Electoral Bureau.
So, what was the FG fuss all about?
De West (local newspaper)
