Myanmar on Brink of Freedom after Election Landslide

YANGON, Myanmar - The people of Mynamar have overwhelmingly voted for democracy, and the church played an important role in the quest for freedom.

It was Myanmar's first open and free election in 25 years, held under the watchful eye of international election monitoring.

Voters elected main opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party to parliament in a sweeping victory. But it's unclear how much freedom the military rulers will allow.

For the last 50 years the people of Myanmar, once known as Burma, have longed for justice.

The country's history in the post-colonial era is littered with bloodshed, ethnic strife, and a military-empowered government.

That government has a history of wrecking the democratic aspirations of its people.

In 1990, the National League of Democracy (NLD) won the last democratically contested elections by a landslide, but the military junta did not relinquish power.

Instead, they placed the NLD's legendary leader Suu Kyi under house arrest and the country under lockdown for almost a quarter of a century of corrupt and sometimes violent governance, turning Myanmar into an international pariah.

But today that is changing, bouyed by three years of openness and willingness by that same government to finally loosen its iron grip on power.

Now the NLD has once again won the election by a landslide, and a hopeful electorate is holding its breath.

A united church in Myanmar has put the full weight of its prayer into this election throughout this year, asking God for peace and freedom to come to this land at last.

It is still not clear if the current government will stand by its promise to allow a transition to the new leadership, and if there be an end to the ethnic and civil strife that has plagued the nation for the last 50 years.

For now, Suu Kyi has requested meetings next week with Myanmar's military chief.

While the world waits, the church in Myanmar continues its vigil of prayer as their country stands on the brink of a new era of freedom.