The Crescent Star Party is a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

History

The party's origins go back to the banning of the Masyumi Party

Masyumi Party

Masyumi Party was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in 1960 by President Sukarno for supporting the PRRI rebellion.-History:...

 by President Sukarno

Sukarno

Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...

 in 1960. After the ban, supporters and followers of the party established the Crescent Star Family (Keluarga Bulan Bintang) to continue to press for the implementation of Sharia

Sharia

Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 law and Islamic teaching in Indonesia. Following the fall of Sukarno and the transition to the New Order, members of the organization wanted to revive the Masyumi Party, but this was not allowed by the new regime. In the 1970s, in a meeting in Malang

Malang

Malang is the second largest city in East Java province, Indonesia. It has an ancient history dating back to the Mataram Kingdom. The city population at the 2010 Census was 819,708. During the period of Dutch colonization, it was a popular destination for European residents. The city is famous for...

, a new party called Parmusi (Partai Muslimin Indonesia, Muslim Party of Indonesia) was formed. It came fourth in the 1971 elections

Indonesian legislative election, 1971

Indonesia's second legislative election, and the first under the New Order regime, was held on July 3, 1971. There were 10 participants; 9 political parties and the "functional group" Golkar.-Background:...

. In 1973, the party was forced to merge with other Islamic parties into the United Development Party

United Development Party

The United Development Party , sometimes translated as Development Unity Party is a political party in Indonesia. It is an islamic party and currently led by Suryadharma Ali.-Origins:...

. With the fall of Suharto in 1998, supporters of Masyumi decided to establish a new party. The original plan was to use Masyumi name again, but after consideration, they settled on the Crescent Star Party. The party's first leader was Yusril Ihza Mahendra

Yusril Ihza Mahendra

Yusril Ihza Mahendra is an Indonesian politician. Yusril was formerly the chairman of Crescent Star Party .-Early life:...

, a lawyer and speechwriter to President Suharto.

Electoral record

The party stood in the 1999 elections

Indonesian legislative election, 1999

The Indonesian legislative election, 1999, held on June 7, 1999, was the first election since the end of the New Order and the first free election in Indonesia since 1955. With the ending of restrictions on political activity following the fall of Suharto, a total of 48 parties contested the 462...

, winning 1.9% of the vote and 13 seats in the People's Representative Council

People's Representative Council

The People's Representative Council , sometimes referred to as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected national legislative assemblies in Indonesia....

. Yusril was appointed justice and law minister. In mid-2000 internal conflict broke out in the party over Yusril's acceptance of financial assistance from former president Jusuf Habibie

Jusuf Habibie

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie , also known B. J. Habibie, was the third and shortest-serving President of Indonesia, serving from 1998 to 1999.-Early life and career:...

. It ended with party member Hartono Mardjono establishing a rival Crescent Star Party. After losing a court case, Hartono then established he Indonesian Islamic Party (Partai Islam Indonesia), but this failed to qualify for the 2004 elections

Indonesian legislative election, 2004

Indonesia held legislative elections on 5 April 2004 for both houses of the People's Consultative Assembly, the country's national legislature...

. In these elections, the Crescent Star Party won 2.6 % of the popular vote and 11 seats. Yusril was later replaced by Malem Sambat Kaban. In the 2009 legislative election

Indonesian legislative election, 2009

Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 9 April 2009 for 132 seats of the Regional Representative Council and 560 seats of the People's Representative Council . A total of 38 parties met the requirements to be allowed to participate in the national elections, with a further six contesting...

, the party won 1.8 percent of the votes, less than the 2.5 percent electoral threshold, meaning it lost all its seats in the People's Representative Council

People's Representative Council

The People's Representative Council , sometimes referred to as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected national legislative assemblies in Indonesia....

.

Regional strength

In the legislative election held on 9 April 2009, support for the PBB was higher than the party's national average in the following provinces:

Aceh

Aceh

Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

 2.4%

North Sumatra

North Sumatra

North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...

 1.8%

West Sumatra

West Sumatra

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...

 3.0%

Bengkulu

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...

 2.1%

Riau 2.7%

Jambi 2.5%

South Sumatra

South Sumatra

South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia.-Geography:It is on the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of Lampung to the south, Bengkulu to the west, and Jambi to the north...

 2.7%

Bangka-Belitung Islands 10.1%

West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

 2.2%

Banten

Banten

Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...

 2.1%

Central Kalimantan

Central Kalimantan

Central Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia, one of four in Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya.The province has a population of just over 2.2 million at the 2010 Census...

 1.9%

South Kalimantan

South Kalimantan

South Kalimantan/South Borneo is one of the thirty-three Provinces of Indonesia and one of four Indonesian provinces in the Indonesian part of Borneo. The provincial capital is Banjarmasin...

 3.8%

East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda and Balikpapan...

 2.3%

West Nusa Tenggara

West Nusa Tenggara

West Nusa Tenggara is a province in south-central Indonesia. The province encompasses the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, except for Bali as the Wallace line running the length of the Lombok Strait forms the western boundary of the province....

 6.4%

West Sulawesi

West Sulawesi

West Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia, which was created in 2004.- Geography :It is on the island of Sulawesi and includes the regencies of Polewali Mandar, Mamasa, Majene, Mamuju, and Mamuju Utara, which were formerly part of South Sulawesi...

 2.2%

Central Sulawesi

Central Sulawesi

Central Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia located in the centre of Sulawesi. It was established on 13 April 1964....

 1.9%

South Sulawesi

South Sulawesi

South Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia, located on the western southern peninsula of Sulawesi Island. The province is bordered by Central Sulawesi province to the north, South East Sulawesi province to the east and West Sulawesi province to the west...

 2.6%

South East Sulawesi

South East Sulawesi

South East Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. The capital of the province is Kendari, on the east coast of the peninsula....

 4.2%

Gorontalo

Gorontalo (province)

Gorontalo is a province of Indonesia on the northern part of Sulawesi. The province was established in December 2000 after being split from North Sulawesi province...

 2.7%

North Maluku

North Maluku

North Maluku is a province of northeastern Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to cover the entire group...

2.6%