Brotherhood and Unity in Politics Broederschap en Eenheid in de Politiek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 29 April 1973 |
| Split from | PBP |
| Ideology | Social democracy Historical: Maroon interests |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National Assembly | 2 / 51 |
Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (Dutch : Broederschap en Eenheid in de Politiek) is a political party in Suriname founded on 29 April 1973. [1]
It was originally founded as the Bush Negro Unity Party (Dutch : Bosnegers Eenheid Partij) to represent the Maroon community in interior areas of the country [2] and was renamed in 1987. [3] It turned its focus away from the promotion of a specific ethnicity's interests, although it still enjoys popularity among the Maroon community. [4]
The party did not participate in the elections of 1987, because the Surinamese Interior War made it difficult to access their members in the interior. [1]
At the 2005 legislative election, the party was part of the "A-Combination", [1] an alliance that won 7.5% of the popular vote and five out of 51 seats in the National Assembly. [5]
In 2012, there was an internal struggle within the party. The party was part of the A-Combination, a union of all Maroon parties, but wanted to leave the alliance, however deputies Diana Pokie and Waldie Adjaiso opposed the suggestion causing a split within the party. In April 2012, BEP refused to support the Amnesty Law which would grant the suspects in the December Murders, including Dési Bouterse, immunity. [6] In May 2012, the two ministers of the BEP were dismissed by Bouterse. [7] Caprino Alendy who had been the chairperson since 1987 stepped down to be replaced by Celsius Waterberg . [8]
In 2018, Ronny Asabina was elected as the Chairperson of the party. [9] In the 2020 elections, the BEP won 2 seats. [10] It contested in only 6 of the districts, and did not run in Nickerie, Commewijne, Coronie and Saramacca. The BEP is not part of the 2020 coalition. [11]
| Election | Seats won | +/– | Votes | Districts won | Government | Alliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0 / 39 | 3,198 | Opposition | none | ||
| 1987 | Did not contest | |||||
| 1991 | 3 / 51 | Opposition | Democratic Alternative '91 | |||
| 1996 | 0 / 51 | Opposition | ||||
| 2000 | 1 / 51 |  1 | Brokopondo: 1 (of 3) | Opposition | ||
| 2005 | 4 / 51 | 3 | Paramaribo: 1 (of 17) Brokopondo: 1 (of 3) Marowijne: 1 (of 3) Sipaliwini: 1 (of 4) | Coalition | A-Combination | |
| 2010 | 4 / 51 |  0 | Brokopondo: 2 (of 3) Sipaliwini: 2 (of 4) | Coalition | ||
| 2015 | 2 / 51 |  2 | 4,618 | Paramaribo: 1 (of 17) Sipaliwini: 1 (of 4) | Opposition | V7 |
| 2020 | 2 / 51 | 0 | 6,835 | Sipaliwini: 1 (of 4) Brokopondo: 1 (of 3) | Opposition | none |
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