Congo Election Update

One week ago in my post, Refugee Wear and Prayer, I wrote about the historic elections in Congo. The elections were for a new president as well as legislature. Since I had asked for prayer and drew attention to to the election, I thought I owed an update.

Aparently, the Sunday election, didn't go too well. One veteran politician called for a boycott. His supporters burned many of the election materials at various polling places as well as threw stones at voters. Because of the violence, the polls were re-opened on Monday. Sadly, despite the unplanned re-opening of the polls, the turnout was very low. Final results of the election are not expected for weeks.

If you are truly interested in this topic, I suggest these two articles I came across in the Anniston Star. That story as well as Central Congo polls open for extra day provide updates on the current election as well as provide some good historial background.

Violence and problems continued on day two of the election. For me this one paragraph from the second article says it all. "The scene Monday underscored the postelection challenge in Congo: persuading a people driven by ethnic and regional disputes and political rivalries that democracy is the best way to resolve their differences."

We are so blessed and spoiled in the United States nowadays.