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The Zimbabwean Senate has voted in favour of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill (No. 3) by 75 votes to 4, with one abstention. The opposition CCC, which has 27 senators in the 80-member chamber, voted alongside ZANUPF.
The bill seeks to extend the presidential term from five years to seven years, provide for the future election of a president by Parliament rather than through a direct popular vote, and make a number of other far reaching constitutional changes.
The vote means that the bill now awaits the signature of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa before becoming law.
Its passage marks one of the most significant constitutional changes in Zimbabwe’s recent history and is likely to remain the subject of intense political, legal and constitutional debate.
The bill also seeks to allow Mnangagwa to influence the selection of his successor and potentially block his deputy, General Constantino Chiwenga, from succeeding him.
If and when Mnangagwa signs it into law and there is no significant resistance from within ZANUPF, the military or broader society, it will signal a major setback to Chiwenga’s presidential ambitions, short of an intervention that changes the political landscape.
More importantly, it will represent a further consolidation of ZANUPF’s hold on power and diminish the prospects of Zimbabwe having a president from outside the ruling party in the foreseeable future.
The self evident story is how Mnangagwa has been assisted by influential business interests, including wealthy individuals aligned with ZANUPF, who may have more to lose from a Chiwenga presidency than from the continuation of the current political order.
The only developments that could realistically halt this process would be a military intervention and a sustained national uprising. At present, however, all of these possibilities appear distant from political reality.
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