Harare — The embattled ruling Zanu-PF party has returned to the drawing board on its controversial plan to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office to 2030, following its failure to gazette proposed constitutional amendments by the end of December as earlier indicated, according to local daily publication News Day.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi had previously suggested that draft amendments paving the way for a two-year extension of Mnangagwa’s tenure would be published in the Government Gazette before December 31. That deadline passed without publication, prompting renewed debate over the viability and legality of the so-called “2030 agenda”.
Under the Constitution, President Mnangagwa’s term ends in 2028. Zanu-PF nonetheless adopted a party resolution seeking to extend his stay in office to 2030, despite repeated public statements by the 83-year-old leader that he is a constitutionalist who does not intend to overstay his mandate.
The issue has since landed before the courts. Bulawayo-based activist Mbuso Fuzwayo filed an application at the Constitutional Court challenging the Zanu-PF resolution, arguing that it violates his constitutional rights. The respondents cited in the case include Zanu-PF, Minister Ziyambi, Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda, Attorney-General Virginia Mabhiza, and President Mnangagwa himself.
In opposing the application, Zanu-PF commissar Munyaradzi Machacha indicated that the ruling party was pursuing constitutional amendments through Parliament, rather than a referendum. Zanu-PF currently commands a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, a threshold required for constitutional amendments.
Machacha argued in his court papers that the Constitution sets out a clear parliamentary process for amendments, including a 90-day gazette notice, public consultations, and affirmative two-thirds votes in both Houses of Parliament, followed by presidential assent. He maintained that a referendum was not necessarily required and that the Constitution was not immutable.
However, constitutional experts have raised questions about whether amendments extending a sitting president’s term could lawfully benefit the incumbent, with some arguing that such changes would require a referendum and could only apply prospectively.
Zanu-PF director of information Farai Marapira acknowledged that the party had paused to rethink its approach but insisted the 2030 agenda had not been abandoned.
“It is not a delay, but a recalibration,” Marapira said. “We want to do it the right way from the beginning. There is no rush, but it will be completed by the end of the year. Zanu-PF does not fail to implement its resolutions.”
The 2030 agenda has also exposed deepening factional tensions within the ruling party, particularly around the question of succession. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga is widely viewed as a leading contender to succeed Mnangagwa, while businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei has been mentioned as a potential dark horse.
Recent reports suggest the succession landscape could become even more crowded, with Zanu-PF benefactor Paul Tungwarara emerging as a new power broker after being recommended for co-option into the party’s central committee.
As legal challenges, internal divisions, and constitutional hurdles mount, the future of the 2030 agenda remains uncertain, underscoring the delicate balance between party resolutions, constitutional limits, and Zimbabwe’s succession politics.