Zimbabwe presses ahead with bill to extend 83-year-old President Mnangagwa’s term to 2030

Zimbabwe’s government has taken a major step towards extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stay in power, introducing a constitutional amendment bill that would allow him to remain in office until 2030 and fundamentally reshape how future presidents are chosen.

The proposed legislation, presented to parliament on Tuesday by Ziyambi Ziyambi, Justice Minister, would increase presidential terms from five years to seven and replace direct presidential elections with a parliamentary voting system. The bill is scheduled for a second reading on Wednesday, opening what is expected to be a closely watched debate over the country’s democratic future.

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President Mnangagwa, 83, is currently due to leave office in 2028 after serving the maximum two five year terms permitted under Zimbabwe’s constitution. However, supporters within the ruling ZANU PF party argue that extending the presidential term would provide greater political stability and continuity.

According to Reuters, the governing party is well positioned to secure the amendment’s passage. ZANU PF holds a two thirds majority in the lower house of parliament and exercises significant influence in the upper chamber through traditional leaders and other allied representatives, giving it the numbers required to alter the constitution.

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Political analysts say the bill is therefore likely to pass despite growing opposition from critics who view the changes as an attempt to prolong Mnangagwa’s rule and weaken direct democratic participation.

The proposal has exposed divisions not only among opposition groups but also within sections of Zimbabwe’s liberation war generation. On Tuesday, a group of retired generals and former senior civil servants publicly opposed the bill, warning that it could undermine democratic principles and constitutional governance.

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The group said it met with Mnangagwa last month to express its concerns. According to its members, the president responded by saying, “Whoever wins, wins,” in reference to the outcome of the legislative process.

Opposition to the amendment has also reached the courts. A coalition of war veterans and activists has challenged the proposal before Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court, arguing that the changes threaten constitutional safeguards and the right of citizens to directly elect their leaders. The court has reserved judgment while it considers the arguments.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s long history of one party dominance. ZANU PF has governed the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980. The country was first led by Robert Mugabe, whose nearly four decade rule ended in a military intervention in 2017 that brought Mnangagwa to power.

Ziyambi has previously said he expects the legislative process surrounding the amendment to take about a month.

As parliament prepares to debate the bill, the proposed changes are set to become one of the most significant constitutional and political tests Zimbabwe has faced in recent years, with implications that could shape the country’s leadership and electoral system for decades to come.