I know many of you wonder why Mike and I often blog international elections. One reason is that there is a lot we can learn from them. However, there is also the fact that their elections are just that much more interesting sometimes. Check out this story from the BBC about the Congo election, complete with a photo of a burning lorry full of voting equipment, set ablaze by election opponents. We don’t get that often in the United States!

Even more, consider this:

In the east of the country, people are already flocking to polling stations from miles around.

In the central town of Mbuji-Mayi, anti-election protestors have burned a lorry carrying voting equipment.

On Friday, a soldier loyal to presidential candidate Azarias Ruberwa was killed and two others wounded in a clash with security forces protecting the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, as the two groups met on the way to their respective rallies.

The most serious concerns about the polling process have been in the east, which saw the worst of the conflict in the 1997-2002 civil war and where militia groups remained active until recently.

At least four people were killed and 13 others injured last week during electoral campaigning in North Kivu province, international watchdog group Human Rights Watch reports.