“Zimbabwe Parliament Extends Presidential Term, Mnangagwa Can Rule Until 2030”

Zimbabwe’s National Assembly has passed a contentious constitutional amendment extending presidential terms from five to seven years, a change that could keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power until 2030. The new law also strips citizens of the right to directly elect the president, transferring that power to parliament instead.

Lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 216 to 42, comfortably clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for constitutional changes.

Beyond the presidential term, the legislation also lengthens parliamentary terms to seven years and pushes back elections that had been planned for 2028 to 2030. Because Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF party commands a strong majority in the Senate, the bill is widely expected to clear that chamber too, locking in the reforms.

Mnangagwa took office in 2017 following the ouster of longtime leader Robert Mugabe, and he has now backed changes that would extend his own time in power. Government supporters defend the amendments as a path to greater political stability, but opposition figures, civil society organisations, and constitutional law experts argue that changes of this magnitude warranted a public referendum rather than a parliamentary vote alone.

Observers note that Zimbabwe is the latest in a string of African countries where sitting leaders have rewritten constitutional rules to stay in power longer, fueling broader worries about a regional drift away from democratic norms.