ZANU-PF moves to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa (Photo: REUTERS/Anton Vaganov)

Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party plans to amend the country’s constitution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years, allowing him to stay in office until 2030, a move opposition leaders have denounced as unconstitutional.

According to Reuters, the proposal was adopted late Saturday during a ZANU-PF party conference. If passed, it would extend Mnangagwa’s second and final five-year term.

Mnangagwa, 83, has ruled Zimbabwe since taking power following Robert Mugabe’s ouster in 2017. His critics accuse him of consolidating power through intimidation, electoral manipulation, and constitutional changes that erode democratic checks and balances.

Opposition figures and rights groups have condemned the proposed amendment as an attempt to entrench authoritarian rule. “This is not reform — it’s regression,” one opposition leader said, warning that the move undermines Zimbabwe’s already fragile democracy.

The government has not yet announced when the amendment will be tabled in parliament, where ZANU-PF holds a comfortable majority.

Zimbabwe’s constitution limits the presidential office to two five-year terms, and Mnangagwa’s second and final term as president expires in 2028.