Zimbabwean president signs constitutional change extending time in power

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday signed a constitutional amendment that allows him to remain in office for two more years.

Nick Mangwana, spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s government, announced the law was signed in a post on X on Tuesday.

“Signed, ⁠sealed and delivered – it is now law,” Mr Mangwana wrote, and posted a copy of the legislation.

This constitutional amendment, passed by Zimbabwe’s Parliament in June by 216 votes out of 258, was gazetted on Tuesday after Mr Mnangagwa’s assent.

Aside from extending the president’s term of office from five to seven years, the constitutional amendment also states that future presidents will be elected by members of parliament rather than directly by the people.

This development comes barely a year after Mr Mnangagwa said he would not seek reelection after his second term, dismissing rumours of tenure extension.

“I have two terms, and these terms are very definite, and I am so democratic; when they come to an end, I will step aside, and my party will elect a successor. That’s as clear as day,” Mr Mnangagwa told reporters when asked whether he would seek tenure elongation in 2025.

Nicknamed “the crocodile,” Mr Mnangagwa came to power after a 2017 military coup ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe.

The coup ended Mr Mugabe’s sit-tight rule dating back to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 and paved the way for Mr Mnangagwa’s emergence.

Mr Mnangagwa was later elected a substantive president in 2018. In 2023, he won reelection for a second term that will end by 2028.