Political analyst Phillan Zamchiya says proposed amendments to ZANU-PF’s constitution are intensifying divisions within the ruling party, with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and war veterans reportedly opposed to changes that could postpone the party’s 2027 congress and extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership to 2030.
The divisions came to the fore last Friday when a Politburo meeting was aborted amid disagreements over the proposed changes. Reports indicate that war veterans aligned with Chiwenga opposed the amendments and that the Vice-President himself had challenged them before the meeting began.
The amendments are intended to align ZANU-PF’s constitution with changes to the national Constitution that extended the presidential term from five to seven years, moving the next general election from 2028 to 2030, among other changes.
Zamchiya said Mnangagwa’s allies had abandoned earlier proposals associated with Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and ZANU-PF legal affairs secretary Patrick Chinamasa in favour of a revised set of amendments expected to be considered at party meetings and the conference in Chinhoyi.
“The faction is now preparing to push through a revised set of draconian constitutional changes,” Zamchiya said.
The proposals include extending the ZANU-PF president’s term from five to seven years, postponing the party’s national congress from 2027 to 2030, and retaining Mnangagwa as party president and First Secretary until the rescheduled congress.
Related Stories
Zamchiya said the proposals also seek to endorse Mnangagwa for another term in 2030 and retain him as State President beyond that year, although further constitutional changes would be required to achieve the latter.
He questioned whether the proposed changes could be adopted without following the procedures prescribed by the party’s constitution, which provides for a five-year leadership cycle and a congress in 2027.
“These proposals cannot lawfully be implemented simply through political resolutions that disregard the procedures for amending the party constitution,” Zamchiya said, adding that the proper process would take several months.
He drew parallels with the national constitutional amendments, arguing that the controversy over Mnangagwa’s tenure had now shifted to the ruling party’s internal rules.
“The same fundamental controversy arose when the national Constitution was amended to illegally extend Mnangagwa’s presidency from 2028 to 2030. Now the struggle has shifted to the party constitution,” he said.
Zamchiya also alleged that provincial chairpersons were being mobilised to support the proposals, with claims of financial inducements, although he did not provide evidence of specific transactions in his statement.
The analyst identified Chiwenga’s response as a key factor in determining the proposals’ fate, questioning whether the Vice-President’s camp would challenge the procedure, oppose the substance of the amendments, negotiate a settlement or allow them to proceed.
Leave Comments