African church leaders urge Zimbabweans to exercise restraint

Published: 2008-04-02

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Southern African church leaders urged Zimbabweans and their leaders to exercise restraint as results of the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections were announced. "We appeal to political leaders to pursue the path of peace and to restrain their supporters from violence during his period," the Regional Faith-Based Initiative said in an April 2 statement from Harare, Zimbabwe. The initiative includes the Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa and the Association of Evangelicals in Africa. Zimbabwe's combined opposition has won a majority in parliament, defeating President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said April 2. No official numbers were released in the presidential vote, in which a candidate needs 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff. Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, says that its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has won presidential elections outright with 50.3 percent of the vote. The churches expressed their "frustrations and disappointment" that they were barred by the government from observing the elections.

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