Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa attends the inauguration ceremony of South Africa’s president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, June 19, 2024. Image @ REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court is weighing a legal challenge against a bill tabled in parliament on Tuesday that seeks to rewrite the country’s political rules in ways that would keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power until 2030 — two years beyond the term limit he is constitutionally bound by.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi introduced the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill No. 3 in the lower house on Tuesday. If enacted, the bill would extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, prolonging Mnangagwa’s tenure until 2030, and replace direct presidential elections with a parliamentary selection of the president. It would also lengthen the terms of MPs, councillors and mayors from five to seven years, a move that has heightened political tensions in a country where critics of the government have often been detained or harassed.
Mnangagwa, who first came to power in 2017 after the military ousting of longtime leader Robert Mugabe, was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2023. His final term, under the current constitution, ends in 2028. The constitution imposes a strict two-term limit on presidents, and Section 328(7) prevents a sitting president from benefiting from any constitutional amendments to term limits. Supporters of the 83-year-old leader, however, are pushing ahead regardless.
The bill is expected to be debated at a second reading in parliament on Wednesday. Political analysts expect it to sail through, as Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party holds a two-thirds majority in the lower house and overwhelmingly controls the upper house through traditional leaders and other proxies who generally vote with the ruling party, giving it the numbers to change the constitution. Ziyambi has indicated the full legislative process would take approximately a month to complete.
Resistance to the measure, however, is emerging from unexpected quarters. Public consultations on the amendments were reportedly marked by chaos, with allegations of intimidation and disruptions at outreach meetings. On Tuesday, a group of retired generals and former civil servants publicly voiced their opposition to the bill. They said they had met with Mnangagwa last month to raise their concerns, but he told them “whoever wins, wins”, referring to whether the bill would pass. War veterans and activists separately filed a challenge in the Constitutional Court, which reserved judgment while it considers their arguments.
Opposition figures have condemned moves by the ruling party to extend Mnangagwa’s time in office, with the governing party’s “2030 agenda” having been on the cards for months before it was announced as official party policy. A cabinet statement backing the amendments said they would “enhance political stability and policy continuity to allow development programmes to be implemented to completion.” Critics remain unconvinced.
Opposition leader Manyara Muyenziwa, in a petition to parliament, warned that the push to extend Mnangagwa’s presidency was “both unconstitutional and politically dangerous,” adding: “Parliament must stand as the guardian of democracy and refuse to change the rules mid-game to benefit one man.”
ZANU-PF has governed Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, and has faced internal tensions since Mnangagwa came to power, including factional disputes linked to succession battles involving Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. The constitutional overhaul, if passed, would effectively sideline those succession contests — and lock in Mnangagwa’s grip on power for years to come.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah