ZANU PF is pushing for constitutional amendments that would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term beyond 2028 when his second and final term is set to expire.
The party is currently preparing for its 21st Annual People’s Conference, which will be held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Grounds in Bulawayo from October 22 to 27.
It is at this conference that the proposed amendments may be adopted and then presented to Parliament, where ZANU PF holds a significant majority and enjoys the compliance of the opposition CCC faction led by Sengezo Tshabangu.
In the lead-up to the conference, ZANU PF’s Harare Province held its provincial inter-district conference on Sunday.
The purpose of this meeting was to formulate draft resolutions that will be presented to the party leadership at the annual conference in Bulawayo.
According to ZANU PF Harare provincial chairman Godwills Masimirembwa, the most critical resolution that emerged from the provincial inter-district conference was the recommendation that President Mnangagwa should continue to lead the country beyond 2028. Said Masimirembwa:
The most critical issue which comes is that the Constitution of Zimbabwe must be amended to enable him to continue to lead beyond 2028.
We are aware that there are constitutional limitations; first of all, it says the President serves for a maximum of two terms of five years each.
There is that window of extending the number of years for each term, or tentatively we can remove the term limit from two terms to three terms or scrap the term limit altogether.
According to Masimirembwa, the ZANU PF Harare inter-district conference also recommended amending another constitutional limitation – the clause that prohibits any constitutional changes from benefiting the incumbent president.
However, lawyer Thabani Mpofu argued that a constitutional amendment would not provide any legitimate benefits to Mnangagwa. He wrote on X:
The constitutional provision that restricts a president to a maximum of two terms is a term limit provision.
As such, any successful amendment to this provision cannot be applied retroactively to benefit the incumbent.
In simple terms, Mnangagwa is constitutionally ineligible to benefit from an extension of the presidential term limit.
Therefore, any attempt to do so would not only be futile but also a blatant violation of constitutionalism.
Mnangagwa first came into office in 2017 after a military-backed transition that removed long-time ruler Robert Mugabe from power.
Mnangagwa then won the presidential elections in 2018 and 2023, narrowly defeating his main rival, Nelson Chamisa. However, Chamisa has disputed the results of both elections.
More: Pindula News