Secular party gains in Indonesia vote (religious parties nosedive)

Source: Philadelphia Enquirer

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The secular party of Indonesia's president tripled its share of the vote in parliamentary elections as support for religious parties nosedived in the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

After years of laws pushed through by religious hard-liners, including restrictions on women's dress and a ban on smoking, even devout Muslims in Indonesia say they have had enough with religion in politics.

The election victory by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party is expected to help him win a second term in the presidential vote in July. The former army general became the country's first democratically elected leader in 2004.

Official results from last month's vote, released late Saturday, showed the Democrats winning easily with nearly 21 percent, compared with 7 percent last time around, buoyed by Yudhoyono's popularity and reform agenda. The second- and third-ranking parties were also secular, although both lost vote share.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090511_Secular_party_gains_in_Indonesia_vote.html

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Mods, I know that this is similar to a story I already posted, but this article does a much better job of expressing the importance of this victory.

Thanks.

Others: please read the entire article, it's very interesting.