PARAMARIBO: Former dictator Desi Bouterse was overwhelmingly elected president Monday by Suriname`s parliament even though he is on trial for the summary executions of 15 people in 1982.

The parliament of the South American nation voted 36 to 13 in favour of Bouterse, who came to power the first time in a 1980 military coup.

The army former sergeant major stepped down in 1987, but briefly seized power in a second bloodless coup in 1991 in the former Dutch colony.

Bouterse, 64, heads the National Democratic Party (NDP), which is part of a four-member coalition that won 23 of the 51 seats in May parliamentary elections.

To win the presidency, he reconciled with a former rival Ronny Brunswijk, a former bodyguard who broke with Bouterse during a 1986 civil war to lead a rebel group called the Jungle Commandos.

Looming over Bouterse is a court martial for the summary executions of 13 civilian critics of his government and two military officials in December 1982, which is scheduled to resume on Friday.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

But his election could put him in a position to declare an amnesty for all those charged in the killings of critics of his regime.

Separately, he also faces an international arrest warrant stemming from his 1999 conviction in absentia by a Dutch court, which sentenced him to 11 years in jails for smuggling 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of cocaine.

Bouterse had faced a strong challenge from his main rival Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the current justice minister in the outgoing New Front (NF) government.

Santokhi, 51, is a former police commissioner and head of the police department, which investigated Bouterse for cocaine trafficking and murder charges that still hang over the former dictator.

Bouterse initially seized power in a military coup in 1980. He stepped down in 1987 but then led a second bloodless coup in 1991, which he pulled off with a simple telephone call to the president.

And he has continued to play a role in the South American country`s politics since then.

In 1996 elections, winner New Front had to step aside after Bouterse formed a coalition government with several smaller parties and nominated his right-hand man, Jules Wijdenbosch, as president.

In 2000 and 2005, he was elected to parliament and in 2009 he was expelled from the body for failing to attend its sessions over a prolonged period following the start of court martial proceedings against him.

An ebullient leftist who dances and sings in party meetings, Bouterse is a fan of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and often dresses in "Che Guevara" t-shirts.

He has reached out over the years to young and poor, especially in rural areas, who complain that economic reforms by the outgoing New Front government have not improved their lives.

Bouterse has pledged to reduce unemployment from as high as 60 percent to 15 percent within five years while investing in education, human resources and the construction of four to five thousand houses annually.

BDST: 0908 HRS, July 20, 2010