Zimbabwe cabinet backs bill that would extend Mnangagwa's rule to 2030

Zimbabwe's cabinet has approved a draft constitutional amendment that would stretch presidential terms, shift the mode of election and potentially keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power until 2030, government officials said after a meeting on Feb. 10.

The proposed changes would lengthen terms from five years to seven, make presidents the choice of members of parliament rather than the result of a direct popular vote, and cap service at two seven-year terms. The government also proposes expanding the Senate by allowing the president to appoint 10 additional senators, boosting the upper house to 90 seats. Together these provisions form the ruling party's so-called 2030 agenda, which has been under discussion within ZANU-PF for months.

A cabinet statement defended the measures as a governance tool, saying they would "enhance political stability and policy continuity to allow development programmes to be implemented to completion." Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the bill will follow formal steps before parliamentary debate, adding that "the bill will be sent to the speaker of parliament and published in an official gazette before lawmakers consider it." He also said public consultations would be held before the bill heads to parliament for debate.

If enacted, the amendments would alter the political timetable for Mnangagwa, who is 83 and whose current five-year term is due to expire in 2028 under existing two-term limits. The new wording would allow him to remain in office until 2030. Mnangagwa first came to power after the military removed Robert Mugabe in 2017, won a presidential election in 2018 and secured a second term in 2023 in a result that was disputed by opponents.

Inside ZANU-PF, the shift is tied to an ongoing succession battle and a desire among some senior figures to shape the architecture of power before any transition. Both chambers of parliament are dominated by ZANU-PF, making formal passage more likely, though the government faces a range of legal and political hurdles.

Constitutional experts warn that those hurdles could be significant. "Legal challenges are likely as constitutional experts argue a referendum is needed if term limits are changed - and also point out that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president," legal analysts say, raising questions about whether the draft could be applied retroactively to advantage the incumbent.

Opposition and civil society actors reacted sharply. Jameson Timba, a senior leader in the fractured opposition, called the cabinet's approval "politically destabilising" and said his group, the Defend the Constitution Platform, would immediately consult lawyers and brief regional and international partners in opposition to the changes. Others warned the move could entrench patronage and weaken accountability.

Voices from Zimbabwe's liberation-era institutions offered a different perspective. Andrease Ethan Mathibela, national chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, said: "At a time when silence would have been easier, he chose to speak out against corruption and nepotism that continue to undermine the promise of independence."

The next formal steps are administrative: gazetting the draft and transmission to the speaker for parliamentary consideration, followed by public consultations and debate. The process is set to test domestic institutions and regional partners' tolerance for constitutional engineering that critics say recalibrates democratic checks at a pivotal moment for Zimbabwe's future.