By Staff Reporter

Zimbabwe’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks to extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years amid protestations from the opposition.

The Bill, tabled by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, was presented during the first Cabinet meeting of 2026.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet briefing, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere said the proposed changes would fundamentally reshape the presidential election process while lengthening the tenure of both the executive and legislature.

“Clause 2 repeals section 92 of the Constitution and substitutes it with a parliamentary process for electing the President,” said Muswere.

Under the proposed changes, the President would be elected by a parliamentary majority, with a run-off arranged should no candidate secure an absolute majority under the supervision of the Chief Justice, or a judge appointed by the judiciary, in accordance with Parliament’s Standing Rules and Orders.

“The objective of this reform is to reduce election-related disruptions, enhance policy continuity, allow sufficient time for the implementation of long-term national projects, and promote political and economic stability,” he said.

The Bill would now be transmitted to Parliament for gazetting and unlike an ordinary Bill that takes 21 days, a constitutional Bill requires 90 days.

The bill seeks to effect the following constitutional changes: -

• The Bill removes the current system of directly electing the President by popular vote. Instead, the President would be elected by Parliament. To win, a candidate must secure a majority of parliamentary votes.
• Instead of a vice president automatically assuming office following a vacancy, the bill proposes that parliament elect a new president within a specified period after the death, resignation or removal of an incumbent.
• The Bill increases the term of office for both the President and Members of Parliament from five years to seven years.
• Under the Bill, anyone appointed as Attorney-General would need to meet the qualifications required of a Supreme Court judge.
• The Bill allows the President to appoint ten more senators, increasing the total number from 80 to 90.
• Responsibility for voter registration and the voters’ roll would move from ZEC to the Registrar-General. A new Zimbabwe Electoral Delimitation Commission would be set up to take over the task of drawing constituency and ward boundaries from ZEC.
• The Bill removes the public interview process for judicial appointments. This represents a shift away from the current system of open scrutiny in the selection of judges.
• The Constitution would be amended to change how the role of the Defence Forces is described. Instead of stating that the military must “uphold” the Constitution, it would say they must act “in accordance with” the Constitution.
• The Bill abolishes the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and transfers its functions to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
• Amendments would allow traditional chiefs and village heads to openly dabble in politics.

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has granted direct access to a case brought by political activist Mbuso Fuzwayo and Matabeleland pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu, challenging ZANU PF’s plans to extend the end of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s second and final term from 2028 to 2030.

Fuzwayo’s application seeks to block or review a resolution by the ruling ZANU PF party, Resolution 1 of 2024, which proposes extending Mnangagwa’s term. The resolution was first passed at ZANU PF’s Bulawayo conference in 2024 and reaffirmed at a similar gathering in Mutare last year.

The challenge argues that the move would circumvent constitutional term limits, which protect presidential tenure under Section 328(7) and require a national referendum for any amendment.

The case has sparked a controversy with Fuzwayo’s supporters maintainig it is a genuine effort to uphold constitutional safeguards, while critics suggest it could be a tactical or even collusive move that might give judicial legitimacy to Mnangagwa’s 2030 agenda.

Meanwhile legal experts and opposition parties have condemned the bill as tantamount to rewriting and effectively creating a new constitution without the required public referendum.

Prominent lawyer Thabani Mpofu argued the process exceeds parliamentary authority.

Mpofu said: “Zanu PF is not seeking to amend the constitution; it is attempting to introduce an entirely new constitution outside people participation and a referendum – a step it plainly has no right to take. A constitution is enacted by the people as a whole, not by a single political party or faction.”

Leading constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku and leader of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) party committed to mobilise public rejection of the bill.

“The proposed constitutional amendments are totally unacceptable. The movers of these proposals have no respect for the people. The NCA party and I will be counted among those who will be at the forefront of mobilising for the total rejection of these proposals,” Professor Madhuku.

The Defend the Constitution Platform, a coalition opposing the bill led by Jameson Timba, a former opposition senator, announced that the cabinet’s approval was “politically destabilising” adding that the group would immediately consult lawyers and brief regional and international partners to oppose the amendments.