Прогрессивная рабоче-крестьянская партия Суринама (PALU)

Political party in Suriname

The Progressive Workers' and Farmers' Union (Progressieve Arbeiders en Landbouwersunie), widely known by its abbreviation PALU, is a leftist Surinamese political party founded on 12 March 1977.

The party has its origins in the pressure group by the same name founded in 1973. This group founded a political party in early 1977 to participate in the Surinamese general election of 1977. After the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état the party tried to steer the revolt into the direction of a workers' revolution. Under the leadership of Iwan Krolis and Errol Alibux, PALU had close contact with the military leadership headed by Dési Bouterse and was the only party allowed to be politically active in Suriname. In 1981 and 1983, PALU was part of the Surinamese government, with Errol Alibux serving as Prime Minister of Suriname. In the 2010 Surinamese general election, PALU was part of the Megacombinatie electoral alliance under the leadership of the National Democratic Party led by Desi Bouterse. In the 2015 Surinamese general election, PALU again participated on an individual basis. Although the party achieved only 0.67% of the votes, PALU got one seat in the Coronie District. It lost that seat in the 2020 Surinamese general election, when it earned only 0.30% of the national vote. ElectionSeats+/–Votes%Government1977 01,0060.81Extra parliamentary1987 42,9101.69Opposition1991 44,8073.03Extra parliamentary2000 11,2900.71Opposition2005 11,9580.93Extra parliamentary2010 11,211Coalition2015 01,7360.67Opposition2020 18200.30Extra parliamentary