was spotted giving a speech on a political stage last Monday. The DC reportedly attended a rally of the VHP party to talk about a state land allocation project in Jarikaba. The NDP deems it unacceptable for a DC who will supervise the election process to be involved in political activities in his district as this is clearly a conflict of interest.

“The trust in the DC has been violated and his objectivity is being questioned because of his active involvement in the activities of a political party. A DC should not attend an event that is politically charged but should instead send a representative. It does not matter if the DC did not give a political speech as his presence at the event of a political party has already raised many eyebrows. Many people no longer believe that he is still neutral. DCs are also tasked with issuing permits to political parties to organize political activities in their district and are therefore expected to do so in an objective manner. There is also a code of conduct for government officials. Despite having a political preference, the DC should have known better than to publicly promote his favourite party. DC Narain should do the honourable thing and resign from office,” said the NDP.

DC Narain told Times of Suriname that he had in fact attended last Monday's election rally but that he did not represent any political party there. “I was there to share information about the land allocation project that the government wants to carry out in the district and how they could get a small piece of land. I spoke less than five minutes and did not discuss politics. I am aware of my duties as DC and I always make sure to steer clear from a political stage. Ever since I was appointed chairman of the main polling bureau, I have tried to avoid this type of political activities,” said the DC.