Muyenziwa Challenges President Mnangagwa Term Extension Bid

 

Muyenziwa Challenges President Mnangagwa Term Extension Bid

HARARE – 18 September 2025

By Own Correspondent

FORUS leader Manyara Muyenziwa has submitted a petition to Parliament challenging the legality and morality of the “ED 2030” campaign, which seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms ending in 2028.

In her submission addressed to Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda and copied to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Justice, Muyenziwa described the campaign as a “calculated assault on constitutionalism and democratic accountability.”

“This is not partisan, it is patriotic. It is not personal, it is principled,” she wrote. “Any attempt to retain Mnangagwa beyond 2028 is a direct violation of Section 91(2).”

The petition outlines alleged strategies by ZANU PF to amend entrenched constitutional clauses, delay elections, and present the push as popular demand. Muyenziwa warns these manoeuvres are “not only legally dubious but they are politically dangerous.”

She also condemned the use of the Patriotic Act to silence dissent, stating, “Activists opposing ED 2030, especially in the diaspora, are being targeted… violating fundamental freedoms.”

Calling on Parliament to act decisively, Muyenziwa urged lawmakers to “defend democratic renewal and leadership turnover” and “preserve the electoral calendar.”

The petition arrives amid growing speculation about constitutional amendments and internal party tensions.

 Legal experts note that any changes to presidential term limits would require a two-thirds parliamentary majority and a national referendum—steps Muyenziwa argues are “logistically and legally impossible” before the 2028 elections.