As you know, Burundi is amid election season, this first full election cycle in many years. Thus far two of the five elections in the series have taken place, though not without controversy. Here is a summary…

In the first election, all voters were able to vote for the political party of their choice for local governance. The president’s party won 65%+ of the votes, a landslide. This was a huge surprise to some of the other political parties. While the international observers said it was, basically, a fair result, those in the other parties doubted that evaluation. So the other parties all banned together and created one opposition party and decided to boycott the next election in the series… the presidential election. If the numbers were true, then people voting for that party would most likely vote for the president of that same party. So the president was really pushing people to get out and vote – though his was the only name on the ballot. Meanwhile, the opposition was encouraging a boycott of the vote, to demonstrate a lack of confidence in the president and the election overall.

Prior to voting day, round two, there were some grenades lobbied into local restaurants and such. There were rumored threats of arresting all the opposition candidates. There were actual arrests of those involved with other parties, the government claimed this was to provide security since these people were stirring up trouble. It was minor, by many standards, but still troubling.

The result… on that voting day, few people turned out to the polls. It was a very quiet day. Most people stayed home. I don’t know if they were demonstrating their agreement with the opposition or not. Several friends I spoke with, people who were excited to vote in the first round, were opting out due to the futility of it all. With only one person on the ballot, why take the trouble to go out and vote? The result was already assured. So that may have played a part in the low turn-out as well. It was rather sad to see the initial political enthusiasm diminished to a quiet whimper.

So this seems like a rather bleak story of an anemic and flawed attempt at democracy. And maybe that is the truth. But there is another story I want to tell you, one that is more exciting and worthy of genuine enthusiasm. In Matara, 27 couples set out to vote on that day. They walked together to the polling site, voting for the president of their country for the first time. They dipped their fingers in the dark ink and affixed a thumb print on the books. They walked back to the village with stained fingers and a sense of excitement – they voted! For the first time they were recognized citizens of their own country and were eligible to participate in the election process, however flawed. For them, it did not matter so much who they voted for (or that there was only one name to select) but that they were able to vote at all. Participation in the election was a sign of membership, a declaration of belonging and a recognition that their voice would now be heard as all others. Election day in Matara was a success… as a sign of something larger! The overall voter turn out for the election that day was under 30%, and most think even that number is inflated. But in Matara, voter turn out was 100%… what good news!

There are three more election dates in the series. This week on July 23rd there will be the election of members of the legislature. On July 28th there is another vote for the senate members. As far as we know, all parties plan to run in these races. Please pray for peace amid the process that remains. Pray for all parties to show restraint and to forgo the use of violence or the inciting of unrest. Pray for the people to be able to engage in their political process with a sense of confidence that their vote will be counted, and their voice heard. Pray for good, competent and credible leaders to emerge from this election, for the sake of Burundi. And when you pray, take a moment to thank God for the good news coming out of Matara! Thank Him for one corner of the country where the voting really mattered in deeper ways!