VHP interested in ban on political treason

The Progressive Reform Party (VHP) has no objections against the possible amendment of the Voting Law which would forbid the formation of political alliances between political parties prior to Election Day. The VHP which currently happens to be the biggest opposition party in Suriname has already decided to fly solo for the general elections of May 2020. The VHP pointed out that the ban on political alliances/ blocs limits the freedom of choice for other political parties which want to or need to work together with other parties. VHP Chairman Chandrikapersad Santokhi expressed concern about the political treason that parties commit when they abruptly quit the joint venture so that they can join another party to form a government. He also disapproved of the fact that certain parties turn out to be a burden instead of a valuable asset by siphoning off votes and parliamentary seats from other parties that have a strong backing from voters. Santokhi referred to the events that took place within the mammoth bloc called V7 which turned out to be a fiasco during the general elections of 2015. Votes and candidates were lost because the big parties had to make room for small parties which did not manage to haul in enough votes to get a parliamentary seat. The Party of Brotherhood in Politics (BEP) disappointed its political allies with the low number of votes it got. The BEP pulled two parliamentary seats on the backs of other political parties before exiting the V7 bloc and joining the National Democratic Party (NDP) to form a government. “These were wise lessons for the VHP,” said Santokhi who added that “it is essential to pass legislation aimed at preventing political treason. Santokhi who is also a legislator pointed out that the VHP is interested in discussing the issue in and outside of parliament. The VHP is reportedly also in favor of adopting over twenty proposals aimed at guaranteeing a fair voting system and process. One of the proposals is aimed at dividing the parliamentary and resort council members’ seats accordingly. Santokhi explained that the current distribution of seats is not to the advantage of the party that hauls in the majority of votes. The VHP made it clear that the discussion should not only be about the ban on preelection alliances.