Brotherhood and Unity in Politics ( nl, Broederschap en Eenheid in de Politiek) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

founded on 29 April 1973.

History

It was originally founded as the Bush Negro Unity Party ( nl, Bosnegers Eenheid Partij) to represent the

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

community in interior areas of the country and was renamed in 1987. It turned its focus away from the promotion of a specific ethnicity's interests, although it still enjoys popularity among the Maroon community. The party did not participate in the elections of 1987, because the

Surinamese Interior War The Surinamese Interior War ( nl, Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswij ...

made it difficult to access their members in the

interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

. At the 2005 legislative election, the party was part of the "

A-Combination The A-Combination ( nl, A-Combinatie) was a political alliance in Suriname. History The A-Combinatie was formed in 2005 as an alliance of Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP), the General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP) and Seeka, an ...

", an alliance that won 7.5% of the popular vote and five out of 51 seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. In 2012, there was an internal struggle within the party. The party was part of the

, a union of all

parties, but wanted to leave the alliance, however deputies

Diana Pokie Diana Marilva Pokie (born 1979) is a Surinamese politician. She was the assembly member from Brokopondo for the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP) before she was expelled. She returned to the assembly as the Brokopondo member representing the ...

and Waldie Adjaiso opposed the suggestion causing a split within the party. In April 2012, BEP refused to support the

Amnesty Law An Amnesty law is any legislative, constitutional or executive arrangement that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for the crimes that they committed. More speci ...

which would grant the suspects in the

December Murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...

, including

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de facto ...

, immunity. In May 2012, the two ministers of the BEP were dismissed by Bouterse.

Caprino Alendy Caprino Alendy (24 October 1952 – 6 November 2020) was a Surinamese politician and chairperson of Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP) from 1987 until 2012. Alendy was vice chairperson of the National Assembly between 2005 and 2010. Biograph ...

who had been the chairperson since 1987 stepped down to be replaced by . In 2018, was elected as the Chairperson of the party. In the 2020 elections, the BEP won 2 seats. It contested in only 6 of the districts, and did not run in Nickerie, Commewijne,

Coronie Coronie is a district of Suriname, situated on the coast. Coronie's capital city is Totness. The district border the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the Surinamese district of Saramacca to the east, the Surinamese district of Sipaliwini to the sou ...

and Saramacca. The BEP is not part of the 2020 coalition.

Electoral results

References

External links

Official Facebook page
(in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brotherhood And Unity In Politics Political parties in Suriname Political parties of minorities Political parties established in 1973 1973 establishments in South America Surinamese Maroons