The NDP was formed from a reorganisation of the (VFB, February Twenty-Fifth Movement), a political movement established on 24 November 1983 by
Dési Bouterse and the
ruling military junta. The NDP was the first political party in Suriname to have a website. It was set up for the
1996 election campaign. NDP chairman Bouterse was elected
President of Suriname on 19 July 2010, after he won the
2010 elections with his
Mega Combination of which the NDP was the dominant party. The party won the 2015 elections as well, scoring 45.56% of the vote and 26 of 51 seats in parliament against an
alliance of 7 (later 6) opposition parties. In the
2020 elections, the NDP won 16 of the 51 seats. Dési Bouterse lost the presidency and he was succeeded by opposition leader
Chan Santokhi. The opposition parties formed a new coalition government. The NDP subsequently became the main opposition party. The NDP returned to power in 2025 as the senior partner in a coalition government, with party leader
Jennifer Geerlings-Simons elected president. == Electoral results ==