Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi is a Surinamese politician and former chief of police who is the 9th and current President of Suriname. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nomination for President of Suriname. On the 13th of July, Santokhi was elected President by acclamation in an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on the 16th of July.
After Santokhi obtained his vwo diploma at the Algemene Middelbare School highschool in Paramaribo, he received a scholarship to study in the Netherlands. From 1978 till 1982 he studied at the Police Academy of the Netherlands in Apeldoorn. After completing his study he returned to Suriname in September 1982 to work for the police. Since the age of 23, Santokhi worked as a police inspector in Geyersvlijt and Wanica until he was appointed in 1989 as head of the national criminal investigation department. In 1991 he was appointed chief commissioner of police.
In September, 2005, Santokhi was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Police on behalf of the Progressive Reform Party. His period in office was marked by a heavy crackdown on crime, in particular drug trafficking, and a strict, no-nonsense enforcement of law and order. This earned him the nickname sheriff, which he got from Dési Bouterse.
Santokhi who, as police commissioner, led the investigation to the December murders did in the start of his ministership a lot so that the December murders trial could finally commence. Exclusive for the December murders trial he had a heavily secured courtroom built in Domburg, Wanica. Because Santokhi was the impulse behind the trial, he became a much discussed matter of the main suspect in that trial, Dési Bouterse. Bouterse said on November 26, 2007, four days before the commencement of the trial, that Santokhi wanted to "imprison and kill him". Bouterse adduced that numerous previous attempts to "take him out" all failed and warned Santokhi to be cautious with his "intentions to eliminate Bouterse". On 29 November 2019, the Court of Appeal reached a verdict in the December murders trial, and Bouterse had been convicted to 20 years imprisonment. On 10 September 2008, Santokhi sued Bouterse for insult, slander and defamation, because Bouterse had alleged that Santokhi had ties to drug dealers and other criminals. On 23 September 2008, the court ruled that the allegations were unproven, ordered Bouterse to publish a rectification, and a penalty payment of SRD 100,000 for each day Bouterse failed to execute the sentence. The same day, Bouterse placed a rectification in De West where he admitted that the statements were untrue.
At the 2010 parliamentary elections Santokhi had, despite being placed low on the voters list of the Progressive Reform Party, second most votes nationwide. In July of that year he was appointed as presidential candidate on behalf of the ruling Nieuw Front political combination. Santokhi's opponent in the presidential elections was Dési Bouterse. Because Bouterse cooperated with Ronnie Brunswijk and Paul Somohardjo, his political party had 36 seats, while Nieuw Front had only fourteen. Consequently Bouterse was elected the eighth President of Suriname.
CICAD
Santokhi, who for fifteen years was the official representative of the Comisión Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas , was chosen on 6 December 2010, as president of this organization for one year. CICAD is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States, that coordinates the drug policy of the Western Hemisphere. In 2009 Santokhi was, also for one year, the vice-president of this organization.
Chairman of Progressive Reform Party
On 3 July 2011, Santokhi was elected as chairman of the Vooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij . The Progressive Reform Party, which was once an Indo-Surinamese party, has grown, since the appointment of Santokhi as chairman, into a multi-ethnical party which, according to current statistics, is the second biggest political party in Suriname. With eight seats in the parliament, the VHP was the biggest opposition party until 2020.
Elections 2020
On 26 May 2020, the preliminary results of the 2020 Surinamese general election showed that the VHP was the largest party, and that Chan Santokhi was the most likely candidate to become the ninth President of Suriname. On 30 May, Chan Santokhi announced his candidacy for President of Suriname. On 29 June, the VHP nominated Chan Santokhi as their candidate for the Presidency. On 7 July, the coalition nominated Chan Santokhi as President of the Suriname and Ronnie Brunswijk as Vice-President. No other candidates had been nominated on 8 July 2020, 15:00, and on 13 July Santokhi was elected as President by acclamation in an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on 16 July on the Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo in ceremony without public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life
On 19 July 2020, Chan Santokhi married Melissa Seenacherry who had been his partners for years. The marriage took place in a private ceremony. Melissa is a lawyer by profession.
