THE AMHERST DAILY NEWS –  The people of Suriname voted yesterday in an election in which it is predicted that the Mega Combination led by Desi Bouterse will win the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. People who went to the final rallies of the Mega Combination and the New Front felt that the Combination had a definite edge as they attracted a huge crowd of mainly excited young people estimated by veteran observers to be at least 20,000 strong.
Nine parties  contested the elections. If there is not a majority win by any of the parties, the man who becomes president could be the one who can very quickly create a viable coalition.
A poll two weeks ago by the respected polling group IDOS which has previously demonstrated accurate polling credentials gives the Mega Combination a 34.2 per cent chance of winning a majority in the elections.
It said that the New Front has a 20.3 per cent chance. According to this poll, smaller parties had the following percentage chances: Community Alliance (9.5 per cent), DOE (4.9 per cent) and BVD/PVF (3.8 per cent). About 24 per cent of the persons polled had not made up their minds.
In the last election held in 2005, President Ronald Venetiaan’s New Front coalition won the most seats in parliamentary elections, but the coalition failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to elect a new president.
After two votes the parliament failed to secure a two-thirds majority for a candidate. The vote then went to a special session of the United People’s Assembly (893 representatives from the national, local, and regional councils) on 3 August, 2005.  President Ronald Venetiaan defeated Rabin Parmessar in that vote.
This is Ronald Venetiaan’s third stint as president.  In 2000, he replaced Jules Wijdenbosch, who oversaw a turbulent period in Surinamese political history.
More than 423,000 persons were registered to vote yesterday. Despite the inclement weather, the Democracy Unit at the University of Suriname had predicted a large voter turnout.
Mr. Breevld from the Democracy Unit said the relatively new DOE Party could spring a surprise.
It has attracted support because of its appeal for a change from the old political system represented by the traditional political groups.
Voters went to the polls to elect 51 parliamentarians, 116 regional and 752 municipal representatives for the next five years from eight political alliances and four individual parties.