By Ranu Abhelakh (AFP) – 9 hours ago

PARAMARIBO — Former dictator Desi Bouterse was overwhelmingly elected president Monday by Suriname's parliament despite being on trial for the summary executions of 15 people in 1982.

Parliament voted 36 to 13 in favor of Bouterse, who has twice led coups in the former Dutch colony tucked away in the northern South America, bordering Brazil to its south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.

Bouterse, a former sergeant major, first came to power here in a 1980 military coup. He stepped down in 1987, but briefly seized power in a second bloodless coup in 1991.

Now 64, he heads the National Democratic Party (NDP), part of a four-member coalition that won 23 of the 51 seats in parliamentary elections in May.

To win the presidency, he reconciled with a former rival Ronny Brunswijk, a former bodyguard who broke with Bouterse during a 1986 civil war to lead a rebel group called the Jungle Commandos.

Addressing parliament, an emotional Bouterse called his election victory a historical moment, because he had secured a qualified majority in parliament, and because "a little indigenous boy will be president for the coming period."

"We have some difficult times behind us. I reach out my hand to those who feel they are opponents. We need everybody to build this country", he said.

The country of some 500,000 people, which achieved independence in 1975 after more than three centuries of Dutch rule, has witnessed several political upheavals in the past three decades.

Looming over Bouterse is a court martial for the summary executions of 13 civilian critics of his government and two military officials in December 1982, which is scheduled to resume on Friday.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

But his election could enable him to declare an amnesty for all those charged in the killings of critics of his previous regime.

Separately, he also faces an international arrest warrant stemming from his 1999 conviction in absentia by a Dutch court, which sentenced him to 11 years in jails for smuggling 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of cocaine.

"We hope that the party who gained power will succeed in offering Suriname and its citizens a government period with peace, prosperity and improvement of lives", outgoing president Ronald Venetiaan said.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for August 3 and it is likely Bouterse will present his new cabinet mid-August.

Bouterse had faced a strong challenge from his main rival Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the current justice minister in the outgoing New Front (NF) government.

Santokhi, 51, is a former police commissioner and head of the police department, which investigated Bouterse for cocaine trafficking and on murder charges.

Bouterse initially seized power in a military coup in 1980. He stepped down in 1987 but then led a second bloodless coup in 1991, which he pulled off with a simple telephone call to the president.

He has continued to play a role in the South American country's politics since then.

In 1996 elections, winner New Front had to step aside after Bouterse formed a coalition government with several smaller parties and nominated his right-hand man, Jules Wijdenbosch, as president.

In 2000 and 2005, he was elected to parliament and in 2009 he was expelled from the body for failing to attend its sessions over a prolonged period following the start of court martial proceedings against him.

An ebullient leftist who dances and sings in party meetings, Bouterse is a fan of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and often dresses in "Che Guevara" T-shirts.

He has reached out over the years to young and poor, especially in rural areas, who complain that economic reforms by the outgoing New Front government have not improved their lives.

Bouterse has pledged to reduce unemployment from as high as 60 percent to 15 percent within five years while investing in education, human resources and the construction of four to five thousand houses annually.

Suriname is sandwiched between Guyana and French Guiana, bordering northern Brazil and has been plagued by drug-trafficking, money-laundering and illegal gold-mining operations.

The country is swathed in tropical forests and home to part of the Amazon rainforest, but also has rich deposits of gold and bauxite, an aluminum ore.