• Some sections of Zanu-PF are calling for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his stay in office, four years ahead of the next polls.
• Constitutionally repealing term limits or extension will not benefit the incumbent.
• Analysts say the push for extension is part of Zanu-PF’s succession politics.

Zimbabwe is seeing calls from within the ruling Zanu-PF to change the Constitution to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his stay in office – something that appears legally impossible.

Mnangagwa completed the late Robert Mugabe’s term in office when he became president through a coup in November 2017. His first term began after the August 2018 elections. In August 2023, his second term started, which must be his last by law.

But in a report carried by the state-controlled Herald newspaper, Harare Province’s chairperson, Godwills Masimirembwa, called for the legislature to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure.

“There’s that window of extending the number of years for each term, or tentatively we can remove the term limit from two to three or scrap the term limits altogether,” he said. 

A recent constitutional hurdle

Zimbabwe’s Constitution is 11 years old, and the presidential term limit some now want to overturn came into effect after the fall of Mugabe.

In 2021, there were plans to remove a clause from the Constitution that would give Mnangagwa the power to fire and hire his deputies as he pleased – and so avoid a challenge.

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According to Veritas, an institution that provides information on the work of Parliament and the laws of Zimbabwe, Section 91 of the Constitution would have to be amended for Mnangagwa to stay beyond 2028.

To do so, the Speaker must publish the precise terms of the proposed amendment in the Gazette, and the amendment cannot be introduced in Parliament until 90 days after that publication. That must be followed by written submissions and public hearings. 

After that lengthy process, a bill containing the amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority at its third and final reading in both the National Assembly and Senate, and when the bill is sent to the president for assent, the Speaker and presiding officer of the Senate must certify it has received the requisite majorities.

There is a catch, however: the amendment will not apply to a sitting president, and so Mnangagwa could not benefit from a term limit extension.

That is explicitly specified by Section 328(7) of the Constitution, which holds a term-limit amendment “does not apply in relation to any person who held or occupied that office, or an equivalent office, at any time before the amendment”.

The only available route, according to Veritas is to repeal or amend that section, 328(7), first.

This would have to go through the same stages as section 91 but would then come down to a public referendum.

Human rights lawyer Nqobani Sithole told News24 “whatever the case, an extension even if it sails through, constitutionally it can’t benefit the incumbent. It’s in fine print. Anything other than that would be a constitutional coup”.

An excuse to stay on

Although Mnangagwa previously said he was on his last term and would not bend the Constitution to stay on, some of the country’s 10 provinces are calling for at least a two-year extension into 2030.

They have also been chanting slogans for him to stay on during rallies in which Mnangagwa and his two deputies, Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, who led the coup against the late strongman Mugabe, attended.

They argued Mnangagwa has a 2030 development agenda he should see through first.

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Within Zanu-PF, Mnangagwa is the first secretary, while Chiwenga and Mohadi are the second secretaries. 

Mohadi has not declared any presidential ambitions, while Chiwenga is widely seen as the natural successor.

Internal fissures

The term extensions could effectively push back if not derail Chiwenga from succeeding Mnangagwa.

One of the first people to pour cold water on a Chiwenga presidency was one of Mnangagwa’s advisors, Eddie Cross, last year.

He said Chiwenga would not even take over for “five minutes because “he’s from the past and has gone as far as he can do”.

The other is Zanu-PF’s spokesperson, Christopher Mutsvangwa, who said Chiwenga was not an anointed heir because Mnangagwa would not ” choose to exit by donating the seat to someone else”.

If Mnangagwa, 82, goes ahead with extending his term this would go down as one of the numerous cases of presidents for life with a debilitating effect on stability, and democracy.

“It’s a disaster. We are far from being a constitutional democracy. There’s no accountability,” said Dr Ibbo Mandaza, a Zimbabwean public policy academic.

In more accountable countries such as Senegal, Macky Sall tried to extend his stay in power, but was blocked by the Constitutional Court.

There have been other cases where an attempt to stay longer in power resulted in coups.

Alpha Condé tried it in Guinea, but he was overthrown by the army in 2021.

Mandaza bemoaned a vacuum left by the opposition that fuels what Zanu-PF is trying to do.

“In 2017, everybody, including the opposition supported the coup that landed us where we are.

“Now Nelson Chamisa is neutralised while the current Citizens Coalition for Change is a creation of Zanu-PF. If that plan goes ahead it will likely be supported like the coup was.

“However, I don’t see this materialising. I don’t see Mnangagwa succeeding in this internal fight. Just like the coup, it’s an internal Zanu-PF power struggle,” he said.

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.