WORLD BRIEFING / INDONESIA
The secular party of Indonesia’s president tripled its share of the vote in parliamentary elections as support for religious parties fell in the world’s most-populous Muslim nation.
After years of unpopular laws pushed through by religious hard-liners, regulating women’s dress and banning everything from smoking to yoga, even devout Muslims in Indonesia say they have had enough with religion in politics.
The election victory is expected to help President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono win a second term when a presidential vote is held in July.
Official results showed Yudhoyono’s ruling Democratic Party easily won the elections, pulling in nearly 21% of the vote, compared with 7% last time around -- buoyed by Yudhoyono’s popularity and reform agenda. The Democrats now have 148 seats, the most in the 560-member parliament. The remaining seats are split between eight other parties.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
