A DEMOCRATIC MILESTONE: why South Africa’s 2026 elections matters for Africa
South Africa’s greatest victory in the 2026 municipal elections was not who won, it was the fact that the election itself worked. In a continent where free and fair elections remain the exception rather than the rule, South Africans witnessed a peaceful, competitive, democratic contest in which political power shifted without constitutional crisis, widespread unrest, or the breakdown of public institutions. Before debating the results, South Africans of all races, cultures and convictions should celebrate the democracy that made those results possible. CONGRATULATIONS SOUTH AFRICA
RESURRECTION IN RUINS: a Christian response to Syria’s elections
On Monday, 15 September 2025, Syria will hold its first election since the fall of Assad. The elections may not offer direct representation for believers, but they do offer a chance to reclaim moral imagination. To insist that peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of dignity. And to remind Syria—and the world—that the Church, though bruised, is not broken. In this fragile moment, the Church’s role may be less about power and more about presence: a quiet but resilient sign of hope in a land aching for renewal.