2030 No Longer Enough - Zanu-PF Now Pushes to Extend Mnangagwa's Presidency to 2037

In Zimbabwe, the ruling ZANU-PF party's Harare Province chapter is actively pushing to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's presidential tenure beyond the current 2030 limit, proposing a new target of 2037. This initiative emerges just days after Mnangagwa signed into law the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Act, 2026. This controversial amendment postpones the nation's 2028 harmonized elections to 2030, effectively granting an additional two years to the terms of the President, Members of Parliament, and councilors.

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We still want him for an additional seven years, from 2030 to 2037. He must lead the party, that is what the party is saying.

At a rally celebrating the constitutional amendment, ZANU-PF Harare Province chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa declared the province's intention to table a resolution at the party's upcoming conference. "We still want him for an additional seven years, from 2030 to 2037. He must lead the party, that is what the party is saying," Masimirembwa stated, emphasizing the provincial party's desire for Mnangagwa's continued leadership.

The government asserts that these constitutional changes are necessary to enable the administration to concentrate on implementing development programs without the interruptions typically caused by frequent election cycles. However, critics contend that the amendment undermines crucial constitutional safeguards. Masimirembwa, however, argued for the fundamental importance of Mnangagwa's continued leadership for the country's development, stating, "The people are saying, 'What happens to him beyond 2030?' So the people of Harare, as we go into resolutions for the next conference, are saying His Excellency should remain the party President and First Secretary of ZANU PF at the 2030 congress."

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The people are saying, 'What happens to him beyond 2030?' So the people of Harare, as we go into resolutions for the next conference, are saying His Excellency should remain the party President and First Secretary of ZANU PF at the 2030 congress.

Masimirembwa further justified the call for extended leadership by referencing Mnangagwa's history as a senior surviving member of the "Chimurenga," the liberation struggle that led to Zimbabwe's independence. Meanwhile, opposition parties have initiated legal challenges, filing applications at the Constitutional Court seeking to invalidate the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, citing violations of the constitution in both its content and the process of its enactment.

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Remember also that he is still the senior surviving member of Chimurenga, the revolution that brought this country to Independence, so we still want him for an additional seven years. He must lead the party - that is what Harare is saying.