Happy Monday!

This week, we cover controversies with the OKB, the independent electoral bureau, and the Anti-Fraud Platform in Suriname; the last IMF loans for the country; and allegations of favoritism for awarded contracts.

The Anti-Fraud Platform (AFP) and Independent Electoral Bureau (OKB) have identified flaws in candidate submissions, which has led to concerns with election results.

• The Anti-Fraud Platform (AFP) and the Independent Electoral Bureau (OKB) have identified serious weaknesses in the election process, particularly with candidate list submissions, leading to calls for immediate action to ensure valid election results.

• Irregularities observed include candidates appearing on multiple party lists, candidates unaware of their nomination, and unapproved candidacies, which could undermine the election process.

• AFP president Jennifer van Dijk-Silos suggests a deliberate scenario behind these irregularities, though fraud has not been confirmed yet, urging caution and further investigation.

• Van Dijk-Silos criticizes the lack of checks and balances at the election bureaus, highlighting that they are mainly staffed by members of the ruling VHP and ABOP parties, raising concerns about bias.

• Political parties, including opposition ones like BEP, NPS, PL, NDP, and A-20, are criticized for their involvement in the irregularities and for being more focused on vote counting than addressing these issues.

• The AFP stresses the need to refute Suriname’s reputation for well-organized elections, pointing out ongoing irregularities and flaws that have persisted for years, calling for the creation of an independent election authority.

• The AFP emphasized the importance of public monitoring to ensure the credibility of the election process, urging all parties to participate in the review process.

President Santokhi has outlined his concerns that may cause election chaos.

• President Santokhi is deeply disappointed and worried about irregularities in candidate nominations for local elections, where individuals endorsed multiple parties.

• He has stated that there may be deliberate interference, where citizens may have been incentivized to sign for multiple parties to weaken the electoral process.

• He has advocated for a digitized government to quickly identify and prevent such issues, as the current paper-based system is too vulnerable.

• He warned that malicious actions could eliminate parties from the election if their candidates are invalidated due to such misconduct.

• Santokhi stressed that broader electoral reforms are necessary, including rethinking the roles of district commissioners and considering whether the president should be directly elected.

The country has gained its last funding from the IMF for debt repayment.

• The latest IMF support of US$ 44.7 million will be entirely used to repay Suriname's foreign debts for April and May; the remaining US$ 62+ million goes to the Central Bank for monetary policy support.

• Finance Minister Raghoebarsing emphasized that Suriname is actively repaying its debts to avoid default and protect its creditworthiness, with significant payments of US$ 28.9M in April and US$ 17.4M in May.

• Additional domestic obligations include SRD 51.4M in April and SRD 38.8M in May, plus an unresolved SRD 600M debt to the Central Bank and over €5M in euro-denominated debt.

• While funds for pension (AOV) payments are available, there have been delays, these have been blamed on administrative issues between the Finance Ministry and Social Affairs, especially late issuance of receipts.

• The government has committed to treating social benefit payments with the same urgency as salaries and contractor payments to avoid further delays.

• Collaboration may continue between the IMF and Suriname through a potential "softer" program that may not involve loans but would boost Suriname’s international credibility, according to Minister Raghoebarsing.

There are allegations of unfairness in the awarding of contracts between Baitali NV and Kuldipsingh NV.

• Construction company Baitali NV is protesting the "unfair award" of infrastructure work on Van 't Hogerhuysstraat and Slangenhoutstraat to Kuldipsingh Infra NV, despite being the lowest bidder.

• The Ministry of Public Works' Project Implementation Unit (PIU) awarded the work to Kuldipsingh, although Baitali's bid of US$19.3 million was US$3.5 million lower than Kuldipsingh’s US$22.7 million bid.

• Baitali filed a protest with the IDB, claiming the PIU did not provide a clear reason for their disqualification despite being the lowest bidder.

• The PIU explained that Baitali was disqualified due to insufficient information, failure to meet technical requirements, and non-compliance with legal requirements like an approved audit.

• Baitali has countered that the PIU’s explanation was biased, accusing them of adjusting award criteria, applying conditions selectively, and providing false information.

• Minister of Public Works Riad Nurmohamed clarified that he was not involved in the awarding process and that any appeals should be directed to the IDB. The IDB has informed Baitali that a meeting will be arranged to discuss its bid. The IDB has previously invested in other projects of Kuldipsingh Infra NV.