Overview

• Lawmakers in the National Assembly elected Geerlings-Simons unopposed on July 6 after rival parties declined to nominate candidates.
• The National Democratic Party leads a coalition with five other parties holding 34 of 51 seats, securing the two-thirds majority needed for her election.
• Geerlings-Simons has pledged to boost state revenues by improving tax collection, including reforms in the small-scale gold-mining sector.
• She takes office against a backdrop of IMF-brokered debt restructuring and public protests prompted by austerity measures under outgoing President Santokhi.
• Suriname is preparing for its first offshore oil production in 2028, and projected petroleum revenues will guide the new administration’s economic strategy.