The World - News from Nov. 27, 1987

Suriname’s opposition leaders said they were surprised by their landslide victory in national, municipal and provincial elections that ended 7 1/2 years of military rule, and Foreign Minister Henk Heidwellir called the mandate “the foundation for a new society.” Jagernath Lachmon, one of the leaders of the three-party Front for Democracy and Development, predicted that the coalition will win 40 of 51 seats in the National Assembly in the voting--the first since 1977 in the former Dutch colony on the northeast coast of South America. Military strongman Desi Bouterse’s newly formed National Democratic Party took about 9.5% of the total vote, compared to 62% for the opposition.