PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Suriname’s parliament Sunday elected physician Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as the troubled country’s first female president.

The South American country’s National Assembly chooses the president by a two-thirds vote. Geerlings-Simons, a congresswoman, ran unopposed after her party formed a coalition aimed at ousting the country’s current leader following a May election with no clear winner.

The coalition was formed as the country prepares for an influx of wealth following the discovery of major offshore oil deposits, with the first production expected by 2028.

Geerlings-Simons, who leads the National Democratic Party, will be inaugurated as president of the Dutch-speaking country of more than 646,000 people on July 16. President Chandrikapersad Santokhi’s term has been riddled with corruption scandals. He was forced to call on the International Monetary Fund to get Suriname’s economy back on track.

As a result, the country’s public debt was largely restructured and government subsidies significantly reduced.

— The Associated Press