Zimbabwe (MNN) — Zimbabwe's Opposition Party appears to
have been terrorized into silence, but the election is going ahead Friday. A defiant President Robert Mugabe made it
clear that he would not recognize the earlier outcome and called for a
runoff.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai officially pulled out of
the race and took refuge in the Dutch embassy. He cited political violence as the reason
behind his concerns. In the run up to
the election, pro-Robert Mugabe
militias have been cruelly surpressing Tsvangirai's supporters. Under the current conditions, he believes it
to be too dangerous for his supporters to go to the polls.
According to the United Nations, is there is no way that
Friday's elections can be fair. There are several countries threatening not to
recognize Mugabe should he declare himself the winner.
The risk of violence erupting and the tenuousness of
post-election peace forced Global Aid Network (GAiN USA) to postpone a ministry trip. It has been rescheduled for May 2009.
The original plan was to have two teams serve alongside a
local partner ministry who planted 300 new churches in 2004 through an effort
known as Project Jericho.
GaiN USA's Charles Debter says, "Our
partner ministry there has humanitarian aid to distribute, but the government
has asked them not to distribute it at this time."
That order has frustrated their ability to reach out with
the Gospel. "As a result, there are many people that they could reach, who
have great physical needs as well as spiritual needs that are not being
helped." Debter says their partner
asked for "prayer for stability, for peace, and for help for people who
are suffering because of the poverty and the strained and difficult economic
situation there."
