Written by Chad Umble
In the African country of Burundi, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and its local partners are supporting efforts to monitor voting and election conflicts, hoping to minimize violence during an already tense series of elections this summer.
Burundi’s election season started in late May and will continue through September, with at least five elections scheduled during those months. These elections are the first since all rebel groups laid down their weapons in 2008, officially ending the country’s 15-year civil war.
Church leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda have made a "firm commitment to work together in promoting human dignity and fundamental human rights".