Dion's random ramblings: A call to prayer and guidance for casting your vote in the South African Elections

South Africa is once again facing a critical decision in its history. In this next election we are faced with having the governing party gaining a two-thirds majority once again. What makes this situation so threatening is that Mr Jacob Zuma is to be the chosen president from the ANC to head the nation.

He, and the party, have already shown a lack of courage and insight in dealing with the difficult issues of corruption, facing justice, and upholding the rule of law. Last week's decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to drop more than 700 charges of corruption against Mr Zuma and Thint in the Arms Deal case is extremely concerning. When you add to that Mr Zuma and other members of the ruling party's recent statements that call the powers of the constitutional court into question you can see that we are heading for an extremely dangerous situation!

Please could I encourage every South African, and every Christian (and person of all other faiths) in South Africa to take seriously their responsibility to see that our nation makes the right choice at this juncture of our history!

Please could I encourage all bloggers to share this (or some similar post) on their blogs?

Then, there are these two very clear statements / requests that I would encourage you to read, pray about following, and share with others.

The first comes from the Global Day of Prayer:

Dear Friend!

We are indeed facing a critical Election on 22 April 2009 and your prayers will most certainly make a difference in the future of our nation.

As we are in the final few days leading up to our National Election we want to request the following:
1. Set the time leading up to elections apart for prayer and fasting. Pray for God?s will to be done and remind Him of His promises. " ... if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

2. Set specific time apart during church services on Sunday 19 April 2009 to pray for the elections.

3. Intentionally pray for peace in our nation. "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." (1 Tim. 2:1-3)

4. Commit to your responsibility to vote on 22 April 2009. Make sure that your vote will not deny your Biblical values and principles.

5. Vote prayerfully, carefully considering what God is asking of you in regards to:

- Integrity and honesty (Am I voting for upright and honest people?)

- Moral and upright policies (Does the party answer to the demands of morality and justice?)

- Blind Loyalty (Do I cast my vote based on past loyalty or on what contribution the party is making towards a peaceful and just society?)

- Intolerance and/or intimidation (Do I respect those whose opinion differ from mine and am I allowed to voice my opinion?)

Yes, your vote in the upcoming election counts! For God?s will to be done "on earth as it is in heaven", it is critical for His children to pray, to vote and to live as instruments of love and transformation.

Let us trust the words of Luke 18:7-8: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly."

The GDOP Team

The second comes from Unashamedly Ethical:

Dear friends

By now many of you would have read or seen in the press that Unashamedly Ethical has launched a campaign to challenge the NPA's decision to withdraw its case against Jacob Zuma and Thint, and that we have set up a fund to take donations that will be used to pursue this issue legally. I will send you further details about the fund next week.

I wanted to send you, our members and friends, an e-mail explaining our position, and asking for your support.

Understanding the Unashamedly Ethical campaign
At the risk of repeating what you may already understand, Unashamedly Ethical is a campaign promoting values, ethics and clean living amongst all South Africans. We encourage people from all sectors of society to live ethically.

From time-to-time, an issue arises in our country which we feel we have a responsibility to address. These issues are sometimes in the business world, as was the case in the pipe manufacturing industry earlier this year. Sometimes they are in the church world, and sometimes in the political world.

Challenging the NPA's decision
We believe that the recent decision of the NPA to withdraw its charges against Jacob Zuma and Thint, and the reasons given for this decision, together with certain statements made by members of the governing party, are unethical. We believe that they are a grave threat to the rule of law and to the moral fibre of our young democracy. We believe that the following issues need to be addressed urgently as a matter of national concern:
- The legal validity of the grounds given for the decision to discontinue the prosecution of Mr Jacob Zuma and Thint.
- The legality of the tapping of telephones referred to by the NPA.
- The apparent abuse of power by a state institution for political ends.
- The alleged abuse of power by state employees.
- The statements by Mr Zuma, and other members of the governing party, calling into question the power and integrity of the constitutional court and the incumbent judges.
- The undesirability of any political party obtaining more than a two-thirds majority in parliament, thereby enabling them to amend the constitution.

With these concerns in mind Unashamedly Ethical called a meeting of the leaders of the major opposition parties in Tshwane on 15th April 09. The following parties were present: COPE (represented by Mr Lekota), ACDP (represented by Mr Meshoe), FF+ (represented by Mr Mulder), and the DA (represented by Mr Moodey). Apologies were also received from Mr Buthelezi of the IFP and from Mr Holomisa of the UDM.

The response of Unashamedly Ethical
In response to these events we have decided to take the following steps:

1. To call on all South Africans to vote, and to make justice and ethics their key consideration when choosing which party to vote for.
2. To call on all South Africans to vote in such a way that we avoid any one party from gaining a two-thirds majority in parliament, thereby enabling them to change the constitution.
3. To establish a fund to receive donations to explore every legal avenue to address these issues surrounding the NPA and Mr Zuma. This legal process may become very costly and so I would like to appeal to you to make a contribution into our "NPA fund". The trust account is being finalised today and the bank account details of the fund will be available next week on our site: www.unashamedlyethical.com .
Please note that this fund has been set up by Unashamedly Ethical alone. None of the opposition political parties are connected to this fund in any way, other than voicing their support for what we are doing.
4. To expand Unashamedly Ethical?s national campaign to challenge all South Africans to values, ethics and clean living.

Finally, let me make it perfectly clear that neither I, in my personal capacity, nor Unashamedly Ethical as a campaign, are for or against any one political party, or any individual. We are against decisions which we believe to be unethical and damaging to all South Africans.

My thanks to you all for your encouragement and support. Please do consider making a donation to our "NPA fund" next week, and please forward this e-mail to others.