Zimbabwe’s ruling party moves to extend President Mnangagwa | news

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union/Patriotic Front said it would begin proceedings to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term for an additional two years, which could keep him in power until 2030.

The proposal was approved on Saturday during the party’s annual conference in the eastern city of Mutare, where delegates directed the government to begin drafting legislation to amend the constitution, according to what was announced by the party’s Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Secretary, Ziyambi Ziyambi.

The constitution requires Mnangagwa, who is 83 years old, to leave office in 2028 after completing two elected terms, and any amendment requires a constitutional change and perhaps a popular referendum, according to legal experts.

The passage of the proposal was met with warm applause from the delegates, in a scene that reflects the style of governance that the party has followed since the country’s independence in 1980.

The Zimbabwe African National Union/Patriotic Front dominates parliament, giving it significant influence, despite warnings in some quarters of the possibility of a legal challenge to the move.

Mnangagwa had previously affirmed his adherence to the constitution and his unwillingness to remain in power, but his supporters have quietly pushed for extending his term since the controversial elections last year, while a wing within the party affiliated with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga opposes this trend.

Blessed Geza, a liberation war fighter and Chiwenga ally, is one of the most prominent opposition voices, using live broadcasts on YouTube to criticize the extension, attracting thousands of viewers.

However, calls for mass protests were not widely responded to, with heavy security deployment in Harare and other cities.

The President did not address the issue of extension in his closing speech at the conference, nor did Chiwenga comment on the proposal or the protests.

Mnangagwa took power in 2017 after the overthrow of former President Robert Mugabe, promising democratic and economic reforms, but his opponents accuse him of turning elections into a staged ritual, weakening the judiciary, and suppressing the opposition.

Legal opponents have warned that any attempt to amend the constitution will face judicial resistance, as opposition lawyer Tendai Biti said in a statement on the X platform, “We will defend the constitution against attempts to hijack it and employ it for an unconstitutional and dangerous agenda against the people.”

In a related context, the authorities in Harare arrested 10 activists – most of them in their sixties and seventies – on charges of preparing a protest demanding Mnangagwa’s resignation, and charged them with incitement to “public violence,” and they are in detention awaiting a bail hearing on Monday.

The authorities had arrested about 100 young men in similar circumstances at the beginning of the year.