CONSTITUTIONAL Amendment No 3 Bill (CAB 3) is heading for what could become one of the most contentious parliamentary battles in recent years amid growing resistance from various sections of the public, including within Zanu PF.
The government appears determined to push the Bill through Parliament after public consultations close on Monday. However, political analysts say the proposed amendments have exposed divisions that could complicate the legislative process.
CAB 3 is set to trigger a high-stakes parliamentary showdown as it faces resistance from political actors and segments of the public, raising tensions over proposed changes that could reshape Zimbabwe’s constitutional and electoral frameworks.
Zanu PF chief whip, Pupurai Togarepi, said he was positive his party would secure a two-thirds majority vote.
“This is not the first Bill in Parliament and we anticipate a robust debate as has been happening with all other Bills,” he said.
On the possibility that some Zanu PF MPs might vote against the Bill, Togarepi said MPs were party deployees and “agents for the party they act for as their terms of reference provide”.
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“…they attend Parliament whenever there is a sitting. There is no reason to anticipate absenteeism,” Togarepi said.
Togarepi said Zanu PF ‘is a party with rules and a well-defined code of conduct’ and that all members of the party, regardless of their positions, are aware of their responsibilities.
Zanu PF political commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, said the Bill was not a ruling party project.
“The party was not involved because the Bill is not a party project, so we really don’t know what people said,” he said.
Last year, the Zanu PF national people’s conference reportedly instructed the party’s justice secretary and Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to ensure the Constitution is amended to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure to 2030, ahead of the party’s 2026 annual meeting.
Chinhoyi-based political analyst Catherine Maboya said Parliament would battle a presumed power struggle between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
Opposition party leader Lovemore Madhuku urged Zimbabweans to reject the Bill.
“One cannot expect Parliament to stop this Bill because they are part and parcel of those who proposed the Bill,” he said.
“We must find other ways to stop this Bill madness that is outside Parliament.”
CAB 3 seeks to extend Mnangagwa's term of office from 2028, when it constitutionally expires, to 2030.
It also proposes scrapping direct presidential elections and giving that right to lawmakers. Mnangagwa assumed power after the late former president Robert Mugabe was toppled in a coup.
His 2018 and 2023 election victories were contested, with critics accusing his party of rigging the polls. Zanu PF denies the allegations.