results, a new Zimbabwean politics will need to be more collaborative, inclusive and based not on one or two leaders, however effective and charismatic, but rather on strong democratic institutions that embody and secure the values of our democracy, regulate our politics and administer peace, truth and justice to all. [8] We invite you, therefore, to look beyond these elections, important though they are, and set our main focus on the type of society that we desire in Zimbabwe. We need to look at the bigger picture. Ultimately, what we are voting for is not this or that government but rather a particular kind of society for ourselves and for our children. It is good, therefore, to revisit Section 3, “Vision and Values” of the document The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision for Zimbabwe produced in September 2006 by the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and ourselves. “Where there is no vision the people perish (Prov. 11:14),” we wrote. “Zimbabwe needs a new national vision to restore our self-confidence, dignity and hope.” In that document, representatives of Christian leaders of Zimbabwe proposed a vision for Zimbabwe as follows: Our vision is that of a sovereign and democratic nation characterised by good governance as reflected in all its structures and operations at all levels and in all our institutions. The current vision of our Conference (ZCBC) is of a reconciled Zimbabwean society living in harmony, justice and peace, in a democratic developmental State. The preamble of our National Constitution can help us crystallize a shared National Vision. [9] The coming elections, if credible, will also mark Zimbabwe's return to full participation in the community of nations of the world. Each family relies for its flourishing on goods and structures which it cannot itself produce, such as schools and law and order. So also each nation flourishes through cooperation with other nations and with the community of nations 5

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