On Tuesday (10), Zimbabwe’s Council of Ministers approved a bill that would amend the Constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years, allowing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in power until 2030.
Among other changes proposed in the bill presented to the government is a provision whereby the president would be elected by Parliament instead of by direct and universal suffrage.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said at a press conference that the bill will be sent to the speaker of the National Assembly and published in the Official Gazette before being considered by lawmakers.
Mnangagwa, 83, is currently expected to leave office in 2028 after serving two five-year terms, with a succession dispute underway within the ruling ZANU-PF party.
The head of state came to power following a military coup that ousted then-President Robert Mugabe in 2017, and opposition politicians have condemned the ruling party’s moves to extend his tenure.
Jameson Timba, one of the main leaders of the fragmented opposition in the southern African country, said in a statement that the approval of the changes by the Council of Ministers is “politically destabilizing.”
According to his statement, a group called the Constitution Defense Platform will immediately consult lawyers and inform regional and international partners as part of efforts to stop the proposed changes.
ZANU-PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from the United Kingdom in 1980. The party holds a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament and overwhelmingly controls the upper house through traditional leaders and other allies who generally vote in line with its guidance, allowing it to push through constitutional changes.
Source: Reuters
