Hardly four months have passed since the passing of former VHP leader Chan Santokhi, and the battle for control of Suriname’s major political party is already in full swing. Though the timing of this early power play may seem unseemly to some observers, it reflects the unforgiving rhythm of modern politics, with multiple factions already positioning themselves to take the party’s top post.
At least three distinct groups have already emerged as contenders for the VHP leadership, with more potential candidates widely believed to be waiting in the wings. While official party rules mandate that leadership elections must be held no later than May 29, 2027, the stakes of this contest stretch far beyond the title of party chair. Whoever claims the leadership will get the rare opportunity to steer the VHP back to national power ahead of the 2030 parliamentary elections – a vote that will be held two years after Suriname expects to begin large-scale commercial oil extraction from its offshore seabed, a development that is projected to transform the country’s economic and political landscape. No major party wants to be stuck in opposition when that economic shift arrives, and the VHP, which saw its hopes for a second consecutive governing term dashed in recent elections, is more eager than any to return to power. That is why the campaign for leadership has effectively launched years before the official vote.
Deputy party chair Asis Gajadien was the first to openly declare his candidacy, and has already begun holding discussions with prominent party members across the country to build support. Party board member Mahinder Jogi has taken a different approach, putting forward party secretary Ganeshkoemar Kandhai as his preferred candidate rather than running himself. Jogi argues that Kandhai brings both the high-level governance experience and deep institutional knowledge of the VHP needed to rebuild the party after its electoral defeat. Like Jogi, Kandhai also has deep grassroots roots as the head of the Kwatta agricultural cooperative.
A third faction, the Lelydorp group led by Partap Bissumbhar, has also made its bid for power explicit, with “renewal” as its central rallying cry. The group not only calls for a new party chair, but also demands a complete overhaul of the VHP’s existing governance culture, arguing that most current party leaders should be removed from leadership roles. This faction is also lobbying extensively across the country to win over rank-and-file party members to its side.
Observers expect more candidates to enter the race in coming months, with interim party chair Glenn Oehlers already publicly indicating he has developed an appetite for the top job.
Across all factions, there is widespread agreement on one core goal: restoring the VHP to its position as Suriname’s largest political party. The agreement ends there, however, as fundamental questions remain unanswered about how that goal will be achieved. Is simply putting forward new faces enough to win back power? Or does the party first need to confront the reasons for its recent electoral defeat honestly?
That question is proving to be the most difficult one for the party to address, as it requires assigning political responsibility for the loss. Was the failure the fault of cabinet ministers who implemented the government’s policies? Of Santokhi, the public face of the administration? Or of the VHP’s parliamentary faction, which was tasked with overseeing the government, gathering feedback from the public, and raising internal alarms when policies began to falter?
Notably, these tough questions have only become open for discussion now that the party leadership is vacant. While Santokhi was alive, internal differences of opinion were almost always kept private, and party members uniformly closed ranks whenever the VHP faced external pressure. This is not a unique dynamic for the VHP – nearly all political parties rely on this reflex to preserve unity during periods of stress. But after an electoral defeat and the departure of a long-time leader, the true strength of a party’s internal democracy is put to the test. Will the VHP dare to engage in critical self-examination, or will criticism be limited to individual leaders while the problematic internal culture remains untouched? Many analysts argue that this is the greatest challenge facing the next party chair: not just uniting the fractious party, but reinventing it for a new political era.
Behind the public announcements and media narratives, the real battle for VHP leadership is being waged not in press conferences or party rallies, but in the party’s 300-plus local grassroots branches. These branches will soon elect new local leadership, and it is at this level that alliances are forged, support is organized, and long-term political relationships are built through constant grassroots outreach: attending community events, personal meetings, and local gatherings. It is these local branches that will ultimately decide which candidates have enough broad support to even appear on the ballot for the national leadership election. Under party rules, any candidate list put forward outside of the sitting national board must secure the support of at least 30 percent of local branches to qualify for the official vote. As political observers of the VHP have long noted: whoever wins the local branches, wins the party.
In the end, this is the great paradox of the VHP’s leadership race. Everyone is already looking ahead to the 2030 national parliamentary election, which will be the ultimate political prize, but the path to that prize runs first through the party’s hundreds of local grassroots branches. While Suriname’s first commercial offshore oil is still yet to be pumped, the race for the VHP’s political jackpot has already been well underway.