Suriname lawmakers give Bouterse's 2nd consecutive term as president
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2010 file photo, Suriname's President Desi Bouterse attends a military parade after his swearing-in ceremony in Paramaribo, Suriname. On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, Suriname’s Parliament gave Bouterse a second term as the South American nation’s president. Bouterse is a two-time coup leader and former dictator. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File) (The Associated Press)
Suriname's Parliament is giving Desi Bouterse a second term as democratically elected president of the South American nation's president.
Tuesday's action came without even a formal vote: There was no opposition in the 51-member legislature.
The former military dictator led his party to victory in May's parliamentary elections, but fell short of the 34 seats needed to immediately re-elect him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bouterse has been negotiating with smaller parties to get those votes. In the end, the splintered opposition did not even bother with putting forth its own candidate.
Bouterse says his next administration will cut expenses and govern with fewer public workers.
Bouterse is a two-time coup leader and former dictator. In 1999, he was convicted in absentia in the Netherlands on drug trafficking charges.