‘Constitutional coup’ claims as Zimbabwean senate approves extending presidential term

Zimbabwe is on the brink of amending its constitution to give the president more time in office, a change that the government says will bring stability but that opponents have labelled a “constitutional coup”. The upper house of Zimbabwe’s parliament voted on Wednesday 75-4 in favour of the constitutional amendments, which will allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stay in office until 2030 by extending presidential terms from five to seven years. The bill, which will also replace direct presidential elections with the appointment of the president by parliament, was passed by the lower house last week and the government said the president was expected to sign it into law next month. Opposition figures fear the changes could further tighten the hold on power of Mnangagwa, known as “the Crocodile”, and his Zanu-PF party, which has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Mnangagwa, now 83, won a second term in office with 52.6% of the vote in the 2023 presidential election, amid criticism of the election process from international observers and opposition figures. Critics of the constitutional changes claimed Zimbabwe could slide back to the repression seen under Robert Mugabe, who resigned in 2017 after 37 years in power, after a coup led by Mnangagwa . Makomborero Haruzivishe, a spokesperson for the Constitutional Defenders Forum (CDF), a group campaigning against the amendments, said: “It is a calculated constitutional coup against the people of Zimbabwe. …