A ruling Zanu PF lawmaker and an opposition Member of Parliament are allegedly planning to bring a motion in parliament for the amendment of Zimbabwe’s Constitution in order to extend presidential term limits.
A draft motion in possession of Studio 7 said to have been penciled by Zanu PF’s Energy Mutodi and Charles Moyo of the Citizens Coalition for Change is calling on Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to urgently bring before the House of Assembly for its approval a constitutional amendment bill that seeks to amend Section 95(b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to “allow the term of the president to be extended by any period not exceeding 5 years as shall be determined by parliament.”
Efforts to contact Mutodi, Moyo and Zanu PF communications director Farai Marapira were fruitless as they were not responding to calls on their mobile phones.
The proposed bill, according to the draft motion, will seek to also amend Section 91(2) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to allow parliament to determine an additional period of time the president may continue to hold office at the expiry of his or her second term.
Mutodi and Moyo claim that Mnangagwa deserves an extension of his term beyond 2028 when his two terms expire as he has worked hard for Zimbabwe’s social and economic development.
They further note that there is also need to amend Section 143(1) and 158(1)(a) to extend the term of office for parliamentarians “by such period parliament may determine for the sake of economic development, peace building and the restructuring of government including addition or abolition of government posts.”
The two are also suggesting the amendment of Section 328(7) which bars a sitting president from seeking a third term, arguing that the current supreme law does not conform with the needs of Zimbabweans as there is need to hold a referendum before any constitutional amendments.
According to the lawmakers, some of these constitutional provisions “do not meet the current aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe who would like to see the current national development trajectory continue” under Mnangagwa.
They claim that there is a lot of toxic politics in Zimbabwe, which calls for a “comprehensive electoral reform process, dialogue and consensus” by all citizens.
A Zanu PF member, who declined to be named in fear of being victimized, told Studio 7 last night that they are aware of some moves to amend the constitution to allow Mnangagwa to remain in office beyond 2028.
He said, “I think I can honestly say it's madness! There's no reason to extend ED's term and it's insanity for the opposition to openly advocate for the ruling party to continue ruling. I know that as a party, we are really good at intelligence and corrupting the opposition, but this is brazenly ridiculous.”
Den Moyo, a member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change USA province, echoed the same sentiments, saying, "Mnangagwa can try to pull wool over the electorate that he has no intentions of running for a third term, but we know that he clandestinely supports the proposals presented by Energy Mutodi and Charles Moyo. Mnangagwa will turn around and state that who is he to oppose the voice of the people as he is famously known for his 'The voice of the people is the voice of God.'
"This development is a disturbing attack on the Zimbabwean constitution, and we will see if they will even abide by the constitutional demands for a referendum for such a sweeping amendment. General (Constantino) Chiwenga should challenge this motion as the person earmarked to take over from Mnangagwa, but again, he has been weakened as most his military allies have been terminated."
The self-imposed Welshman Ncube-led CCC secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu told 300 lawmakers at the weekend at Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm in Kwekwe that the president may continue in power if that makes Zimbabweans happy. His remarks have been condemned by other factions of the opposition CCC and several stakeholders.
Mnangagwa has already indicated that he is not interested in seeking a third term despite moves by some Zanu PF activists to extend his rule.
Indications are that some Zanu PF activists are against the extension of Mnangagwa’s term of office, noting that he should retire.
Forum