HARARE, — Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved draft constitutional amendments that would lengthen presidential terms from five to seven years and shift presidential selection from direct popular vote to Parliament, a move that could keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in office until 2030 if passed.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the bill will now go through attorney-general “legal scrubbing” before gazetting and introduction in Parliament. The government says the changes are meant to strengthen “political stability and policy continuity” and ensure development programs are completed.
Mnangagwa, who came to power after the 2017 military-backed ouster of Robert Mugabe, is currently in his second elected term after 2018 and 2023 victories. Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF formally adopted a “2030 agenda” in late 2025 to extend his tenure beyond the current 2028 constitutional end point.
Under the cabinet-backed package, other changes reportedly include allowing the president to appoint 10 additional senators, expanding the upper chamber to 90 seats. Critics argue this could further consolidate executive influence over institutions that are already heavily tilted toward the ruling party.
Opposition politicians and legal analysts say the proposed overhaul raises major constitutional questions. They argue amendments with the effect of extending an incumbent’s tenure should require broad procedural safeguards, including supermajority legislative approval and, potentially, a referendum. AFP-quoted opposition voices warned that bypassing popular ratification would undermine constitutionalism and likely deepen political tensions.
The backdrop is a hardening domestic climate. Attempts to protest the 2030 plan have faced police crackdowns and arrests, while opposition groups say civic space is shrinking. Zimbabwe has also struggled with prolonged economic distress, unemployment and governance concerns, factors analysts say raise the political stakes of any constitutional redesign.
For now, the amendment package is not yet law. It must still pass through formal drafting, gazetting, and parliamentary procedures. But the cabinet decision is a decisive step toward institutionalizing the ruling party’s succession strategy — and it sets up what could become Zimbabwe’s sharpest constitutional confrontation since the 2013 charter introduced the two-term presidential limit.
