Indonesians to Select Lawmakers
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
April 8th, 2009
Posted: 10:11 PM ET
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) — Indonesians headed for the polls early Thursday to choose legislators for the world’s most populous Muslim nation, a vote that also will determine which parties can field candidates for July’s presidential election.
The parliament’s 700 seats are the prize for 12,000 candidates from 38 parties in a nation that for now is a largely moderate and democratic one, although Thursday’s vote is only the second direct election since since the authoritarian regime of Suharto fell in 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
But some analysts say there are signs that it is on the path to becoming a conservative and fundamentalist nation, moving away from democracy and toward sharia law, or Islamic law.
One sign they cite is the government’s recent support for an anti-pornography bill that had had been pushed by more fundamentalist Islamic groups, including the highly influential Ulama Council.
However, Islamist parties are not expected to fare well this time around, partly because most voters are more concerned about economic issues, rather than religious or moral ones.
More than 70 percent of Indonesia’s 238 million people are expected to cast ballots.
The parliament’s 700 seats are the prize for 12,000 candidates from 38 parties in a nation that for now is a largely moderate and democratic one, although Thursday’s vote is only the second direct election since since the authoritarian regime of Suharto fell in 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
But some analysts say there are signs that it is on the path to becoming a conservative and fundamentalist nation, moving away from democracy and toward sharia law, or Islamic law.
One sign they cite is the government’s recent support for an anti-pornography bill that had had been pushed by more fundamentalist Islamic groups, including the highly influential Ulama Council.
However, Islamist parties are not expected to fare well this time around, partly because most voters are more concerned about economic issues, rather than religious or moral ones.
More than 70 percent of Indonesia’s 238 million people are expected to cast ballots.
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