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The Historical Archives of the Holy Kingdom of Samantra

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Excerpt from the Samantran international archive, section: Allied States of Ardia
1954: A most peculiar referendum has taken place in Samantra 


Samantrans going to the polls

"Less than three months after peace finally came to the country, the new de facto leader of the country, Patriarch Bartholomew has called on a very peculiar referendum. The Samantran people were called to the polls to decide if they agree to make Jesus Christ, the God of the Christians, king of Samantra.

The referendum comes after a period of reconciliation where all the captured leaders of the defeated communist and fascist were pardoned personally by Patriarch Bartholomew by going to their jails and immediately ordering their release. The Patriarch went even further than that and organized a very emotional conference with the jailers of his time in captivity and publicly expressed that he forgives them for the years of suffering he had endured.

All major public figures of what is left of Samantra's present and former political elite including the former communist leader of the Samantran Communist Revolutionary Guard now turned Christian have expressed full support for the motion proposed at the referendum.

It is perhaps of no surprise then that when the ballots were counted and the results were in that a incredible 95,89% of the votes were in favor of the initiative with a just as astonishing 83,21% participation rate.

When I asked regular Samantrans why they voted yes in the referendum their answers usually fall in two categories: "we voted for peace " or "as a thank you to the Patriarch" and while none could express in detail what they think the vote will mean for Samantra that is perhaps understandable.

Shortly after the results were announced, Patriarch Bartholomew gave a short speech comparing Samantra’s 40 years of war to the 40 years of wandering in the desert of the Israelites lead by Moses in the Christian teachings. He called the four decades of war a “cleansing purgatory” which has allowed Samantra to be reborn with Jesus Christ as king. Although his speech was deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and offered hope to the people of Samantra is was lacking in detail as to how and what the referendum will change for country."



Regular Samantrans stopping to pray to the ruins of churches is an increasingly common occurrence in Samantra and perhaps symbolic of the future of the country




OOC: The end.

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