Zimbabwe could be pushed back towards a one-party state under proposed constitutional changes that would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule and reshape how leaders are chosen – a move that critics say will weaken key democratic checks.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, is pushing the reforms after publishing them in February and holding public consultations at the end of March.
They would extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, and scrap the direct popular vote for the presidency, instead giving members of parliament the power to choose the head of state.
“The changes will morph the country into a one-party state system of governance which former President Mugabe attempted to do,” Blessing Vava, head of a regional civil society coalition on democracy and accountability, told RFI.
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Mnangagwa, 83, who has been serving his second term since 2023, would also gain a two-year extension beyond his current 2028 mandate if the changes are approved.
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Rushed consultation
The way the reforms have been handled has also drawn criticism.
Under Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution, amendments must go through a 90-day public consultation period before being formally introduced in parliament.
But in this case, public hearings were delayed and then compressed into just four days, from 30 March to 2 April.
“It’s delayed weeks and weeks and weeks. And then…it has confined the hearings to a period of four days… from Monday through to Thursday. It has been wholly inadequate,” said David Coltart, mayor of Bulawayo and a founding member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party.
Coltart, who is also a human rights and constitutional lawyer, pointed to reports of intimidation and violence around the process.
He cited the arrest of Tendai Biti, leader of the Constitutional Defenders Forum, last month in Mutare.
He also referred to the case of his son, Doug Coltart, who was beaten during a hearing in the capital Harare, and to opposition leader Lovemore Madhuku, who was attacked and hospitalised earlier in March.
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Violence and power
Supporters of the reforms say the changes could reduce election-related violence.
Zimbabwe has a history of political violence during elections, including incidents in 2018 and 2023.
A United States government human rights report on the 2023 elections said journalists reported attacks on opposition members, foreign diplomats and journalists, and manipulation of online debate.
“The reason I am in favour of the Constitutional Amendment Bill 3 is that we are facing serious challenges every time elections take place,” said Edith Matsambi, a supporter from Mashonaland Central, speaking at public hearings on the reforms.
“So the president should continue in office for longer, even up to 10 years.”
Another supporter told the news channel Al Jazeera that indirect elections could help reduce tensions.
“Every time we have presidential elections, there is a lot of violence. However, if we elect the MPs and the MPs elect the president, it will help us a lot,” the supporter said.
But critics say the changes could instead concentrate power.
“I have absolutely no doubt that Zanu-PF would use its majority, and the MPs who’ve been infiltrated, to get a two-thirds majority,” Coltart told RFI.
Civicus, a global civil society alliance, also criticised the proposed voting changes, saying they would remove democratic legitimacy from the presidency.
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Safeguards at risk
The reforms would change key protections introduced in 2013. That constitution, approved by 94.5 percent of voters in a referendum, limited presidents to two five-year terms and aimed to prevent long-term rule.
It followed the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37-year presidency by a military coup in 2017. While celebrated for leading the country (then called Rhodesia) to independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, Mugabe’s rule was marked by tyranny and corruption, the crushing of political dissent and policies that ruined the country’s economy.
Since then, critics say some of those safeguards have been weakened.
Zanu-PF has already removed public interviews for senior judicial appointments. A further amendment in 2021 removed interviews for judicial promotions and for the prosecutor general.
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Coltart said the latest proposed changes would go further.
“These amendments have the effect of consolidating power in the hands of the president. He’s now given additional powers to nominate judges, to nominate those who prepare the voters’ roll to nominate senators,” he said.
“And there are a variety of other provisions going beyond the mere extension of the term of office which go back to the very darkest days of Mugabe’s rule in the 1980s and 1990s.”
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Referendum doubts
Under the constitution, changes affecting a sitting president’s term require a national referendum after passing parliament.
Coltart said he does not expect one to be held. Vava said the ruling party may still proceed, but warned of the risks.
“Firstly, Zanu-PF is trying all systems out to evade the referendum but they also know that doing so will be a tough hurdle, they may succeed but their legitimacy will be on the wire,” Vava said.
If the reforms are approved, Coltart said opponents could challenge them in the Constitutional Court.
“That will have to come before the Constitutional Court, and it is the only means that we have at our disposal to contest it.”
