Zimbabwe Senate backs bill to delay 2028 vote and extend Mnangagwa rule

Harare,UPDATED: Jun 25, 2026 01:26 IST

Zimbabwe's Senate on Wednesday approved constitutional amendments that would end direct presidential elections, delay the next vote from 2028 to 2030 and extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's tenure by two years. The bill now needs Mnangagwa's signature to become law.

The measure was backed by 75 senators, while four voted against it, with some lawmakers from the fractured opposition joining members of the ruling party. The amendments would also change how presidents are chosen, handing the power to lawmakers instead of voters, and would lengthen the terms of the president and members of parliament to seven years from five.

Critics, including human rights lawyers, activists and some opposition figures, have said extending presidential terms should be approved through a referendum. Mnangagwa's supporters have argued that Parliament can pass the changes because the constitutional two-term limit would stay in place, even if each term becomes longer.

The proposal has added to political tensions in Zimbabwe. Critics of the bill have faced arrest and detention, while others have alleged harassment and intimidation. Courts in the southern African country are yet to rule on several legal challenges to the proposal.

Mnangagwa has been in power since 2017, when the military backed the removal of his mentor and Zimbabwe's longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019. Although Mnangagwa had earlier said he would step down when his second term ends in 2028, his ruling ZANU-PF party has pushed for the amendments, and Parliament has at times sat late into the night to move the bill forward. The lower house overwhelmingly approved the measure last week.

In effect, the bill clears the way for Zimbabwe to postpone its next presidential election, replace direct voting with selection by lawmakers and extend the terms of the president and MPs if it receives the president's final approval.

With PTI Inputs

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