ED says no to third term

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he will not support amending the Constitution of Zimbabwe to get himself a third term as Head of State and Government.
Emphasising that Zimbabwe was a constitutional democracy, he told “Brick by Brick” magazine that he and the ruling ZANU PF party would uphold the national constitution in its entirety.
There has been speculation that President Mnangagwa was bidding for a third term, just months after winning a second stint in the top office through the 2023 elections.
“Well, I am very happy that Zimbabweans are very imaginative,” he said. “They can imagine about anything, which shows there is democracy in the country, you see. But we in ZANU PF are very democratic and we obey the constitution.
“There is not an iota of evidence where ZANU PF or I, as President, has ever expressed the violation of our Constitution. But we allow people to dream properly or widely. They will still wake up and find things are working and the Constitution hasn’t changed.”
Extending presidential term limits requires amending Section 91 of the constitution, which disqualifies a person “for election as President or appointment as Vice-President if he or she has already held office as President for two terms, whether continuous or not, and for the purpose of this subsection three or more years’ service is deemed to be a full term”.
An amendment would require the support of two-thirds of both the National Assembly and the Senate. In addition, Section 328(7) makes it impossible for an incumbent to extend his/her own terms of office.
It reads: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an amendment to a term-limit provision the effect of which is to extend the length of time that a person may hold or occupy any public office, does not apply in relation to any person who held or occupied that office, or an equivalent office, at any time before the amendment.”
This means, any amendment to term limits can only apply to future presidents and to amend this clause requires a national referendum, as spelt out in Section 328(9).
In the “Brick by Brick” interview, President Mnangagwa also said: “As long as your constitution is serving you well, keep it. If it’s not serving you well, you sit down and amend the provisions that no longer serve the interests of the country. We must be constitutional democracies, like ours.”