Zimbabwe cabinet agrees plan to extend president’s term to 2030
Zimbabwe's cabinet on Tuesday approved sweeping changes to the constitution as part of a bid to extend 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term till 2030, angering opposition figures who warned any changes had to be put to a national referendum.
Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved sweeping constitutional changes that would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stay in power until 2030, a move that has sparked outrage from opposition figures and raised concerns about the country’s democratic future.
The proposed amendments would extend the length of a presidential term from five to seven years and shift the way the president is chosen moving from direct elections by the people to selection by parliament. The plan also includes expanding the Senate by allowing the president to appoint 10 additional members.
The changes come after months of discussion within Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party, which has pursued what it calls a “2030 agenda” to extend Mnangagwa’s leadership beyond his current term, set to end in 2028. Mnangagwa, now 83, first came to power in 2017 following the military-backed removal of long-time leader Robert Mugabe.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the draft bill will undergo a legal review before being published in the government gazette and introduced to parliament for debate. Supporters of the plan say the reforms are intended to promote political stability and policy continuity so that development programmes can be completed.
But critics argue the cabinet’s move undermines Zimbabwe’s constitution and democratic principles. Opposition leaders and analysts have insisted that any amendment with the effect of extending an incumbent’s tenure should be put to a national referendum, a step they say authorities are likely to avoid because it could fail.
Figures like opposition politician David Coltart and democracy advocates warn that bypassing a referendum would erode public trust and could lead to political instability. Many Zimbabweans see the move as a further consolidation of power by ZANU-PF in a country where opposition parties have long struggled after years of repression.
As the draft bill moves closer to parliament, the debate in Zimbabwe has intensified reflecting deep divisions over the country’s political path, governance and the balance of power between elected leaders and the people they serve.
