Zimbabwe: 'Zanu-PF Would Have Sued Mnangagwa If He Had Refused to Sign CAB3' - Kazembe

What the report says

Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe, said the ruling Zanu PF party would have gone to court if President Emmerson Mnangagwa had declined to sign Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 into law. He made the remarks at a Zanu PF gathering in Mashonaland Central, where he also serves as the party’s provincial chairman, and framed Mnangagwa’s assent as compliance with constitutional procedure once Parliament had completed its work.

Kazembe publicly praised the president for what he described as respect for the Constitution, saying the party believed Mnangagwa had followed the legal process rather than intervening in it. His comments come amid broader debate over the amendment and its implications for Zimbabwe’s political system.

According to the report from New Zimbabwe, the amended law has drawn attention because it effectively extends the life of the current Parliament and local authorities by two years, shifting the next harmonised elections from 2028 to 2030. It also keeps the terms of Mnangagwa, MPs and councillors elected in 2023 running until 2030, while making other changes to the electoral commission, parliamentary vacancies, and several governance institutions. Supporters have described the measure as a constitutional update, while critics say it reduces accountability by lengthening elected terms without a new vote.