Zimbabwe’s cabinet approved on Tuesday sweeping changes to the constitution that critics said was part of a bid to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term by two years until 2030.
The changes, which still need to be presented to parliament, include extending the presidential term from five to seven years and having parliament choose the president instead of the electorate.
It comes after Mnangagwa's Zanu-PF party adopted in October a plan to keep the 83-year-old president in power beyond the end of his term in 2028 and said the required legislative amendments would be initiated.
The ruling party's "2030 agenda" had been on the cards for months before it was announced as the party position, prompting opposition figures to vow to "defend the constitution against its capture".
‘Political stability’
A post-cabinet statement said the amendments it had passed would "enhance political stability and policy continuity to allow development programmes to be implemented to completion".
The bill would undergo "legal scrubbing" by the attorney general before being published in the government gazette and introduced to parliament, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said.
Other provisions include allowing the president to appoint 10 more senators, boosting the Senate to 90 seats.
Opposition figures have said that any constitutional amendment would also need to be put to a national referendum.
Police crackdown
"Any amendment which has the 'effect' of extending an incumbent's tenure should be subjected to a referendum," opposition politician David Coltart told AFP.
President Mnangagwa was first elected in 2018 and won re-election in 2023.
Attempts over the past months to demonstrate against the plan to keep him in office were met with a police crackdown that put scores of people in jail.
