Zimbabwe’s parliament will this Wednesday debate a draft piece of legislation that seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years to 2030. The bill was introduced to parliament on Tuesday for its second reading.
This is despite criticism from a fractured opposition and some veterans of the country’s liberation war.
Eighty-three-year-old Mnangagwa is meant to step down in 2028 after serving two five-year terms as head of state, but his supporters want to change the constitution to extend presidential terms from five years to seven. They also want presidents to be elected by parliament rather than by direct popular vote.
ZANU-PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, first under longtime leader Robert Mugabe and then Mnangagwa, who took over after a 2017 coup.
–ChannelAfrica–
