Southern Africa: SADC Not Concerned With Mnangagwa's Decision to Award Self Third Term - Says South Africa

What the report says

The Southern African Development Community is not taking a public position on Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Amendment Act 3, according to remarks made by South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya at the recent SADC summit in Durban. The comments came after the bloc’s leadership changed hands at the meeting, which ended on 17 August, with South Africa taking over from Zimbabwe.

The article says the law, signed in July, is widely disputed in Zimbabwe because it extends President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time in office to 2030. It also gives him authority to appoint additional senators and changes the rules around presidential elections, shifting that responsibility to parliamentarians and senators. Critics, including analysts and political activists cited in the report, have argued that the amendment should not have benefited Mnangagwa and that the process was partisan and unlawful.

Magwenya said the regional bloc views the matter as having followed domestic legal steps and does not see it as a crisis requiring SADC intervention. He also said regional institutions should not weigh in on national processes that are operating within a country’s legal framework. The report adds that the amendment drew opposition in Zimbabwe and that a referendum was expected under the constitution before Zanu PF successfully challenged that requirement.