Zimbabwe (MNN) — Zimbabwe’s presidential election is next month on August 23. Zimbabwe’s last presidential election in 2018 was highly contested after the former president Robert Mugabe was deposed.
Current president Emmerson Mnangagwa is running for re-election against main challenger Nelson Chamisa with the Citizen’s Coalition for Change.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe. (Photo courtesy of Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76638018)
The election comes at a time when Zimbabwe is seeking to restore its image. Inflation skyrocketed to 175% in June, up from 87% the previous month. The increase was affected with the crash of the Zimbabwean dollar at the start of June. Zimbabwe continues to have one of the worst rates of inflation in the world.
Other hot topics this election season include accusations of crackdowns on opposition leaders, state-media blackouts, and national poverty. Zimbabwe also has one of Africa’s highest rates of child marriage and a severe water sanitation crisis.
So far, Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach says, “Things are staying calm which is good. We’re just praying that they remain calm and that the elections go smoothly there in the country. But those can be challenging times [with] things happening that could challenge ministry.”
CWO equips pastors and Christian leaders in Zimbabwe for ministry. “Some of them are not seminary trained but just have a heart to serve the Lord in their churches, so we give them some training and Bible teaching.”
A leadership seminar in Harare, Zimbabwe with 30 pastors from 20 church groupings, hosted by CWO in October 2022. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)
The ministry continues to keep an eye on the situation, but if election tensions start to rise, Yoder says, “That could prevent us from having a leadership conference. If there’s any major thing going on with the elections, they could have to cancel a leadership conference there in the country.”
Pray for fair elections in Zimbabwe and for peace in the country leading to the polls. Pray especially for the Lord to open Gospel opportunities as local pastors are equipped by CWO to reach the lost in their communities.
Header photo of Harare, Zimbabwe. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)
