AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - Controversy on the dates of elections and in the meantime Christian churches organize the monitoring of the vote

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Harare (Agenzia Fides) - Over 200 Christian religious leaders, including priests and Bishops, have been trained to follow the upcoming presidential election in Zimbabwe. The program was sponsored by Southern Africa Crisis Management Agency, a non-government organization, and by Christian Action Trust Zimbabwe (CAT-Zim), an ecumenical group. The program aims to train about 5,000 Christian leaders.
"We are part of a broader group of organizations affiliated to the Zimbabwe Council of Churches that have embarked on various strategies to minimise violence and torture as part of our normal pastoral work in Zimbabwe," said Reverend Levee Kadenge, President of CAT-Zim. "This program seeks to complement the efforts already underway by three Zimbabwe main church organizations: the Catholic Bishops Conference, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches to address Zimbabwe’s perennial legacy of violence before, during and after elections."
President Robert Mugabe has set, without consulting other political forces, July 31 as the date of the election. The Premier, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition has asked for a postponement of the vote. Even SADC (Southern African Countries of the Economic Community) has asked Mugabe to postpone the elections. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/06/2013)


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