211 Views ZANU PF’s Harare Province is already pushing for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stay in power well past the new 2030 deadline, barely days after he signed the constitutional changes that extended his current term. The same ZANU PF Harare Province is the one that proposed for the Constitutional Amendment Bill number 3 (CAB3) […]

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ZANU PF’s Harare Province is already pushing for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stay in power well past the new 2030 deadline, barely days after he signed the constitutional changes that extended his current term.

The same ZANU PF Harare Province is the one that proposed for the Constitutional Amendment Bill number 3 (CAB3) which is now an Act extending Mnangagwa’s current term to 2023.

Mnangagwa was supposed to step down in 2028, at the end of his second and final term.

Speaking at a “Thank You” rally in Epworth, the provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa told supporters that Harare would be taking a resolution to the party’s next conference asking for Mnangagwa to remain both President and party leader until 2037.

“While the amendment allows the President to remain in office until 2030 to complete Vision 2030, we still want him for an additional seven years, from 2030 to 2037. He must lead the party. That is what Harare is saying,” Masimirembwa said to cheers from the crowd.

The statement signals that the ruling party’s most populous province wants to recycle the same strategy it used to launch the earlier “Mnangagwa 2030” campaign, but this time with an even longer timeline. Instead of stopping at 2030, Harare is now asking for another seven years on top of that.

Mnangagwa, who is 83, only recently put his signature to Constitutional Amendment No. 3. That law made several major changes to Zimbabwe’s political calendar. It moved the next harmonised elections from 2028 to 2030. It also added two years to the terms of the President, Members of Parliament and councillors, meaning the current crop of elected officials will now serve longer than originally planned.

Perhaps the most controversial part of the amendment is that it removed direct elections for President. Under the new arrangement, it will be Members of Parliament who choose who becomes President, instead of voters casting ballots directly.

For the government, the justification has been continuity and the need to see Vision 2030 through to completion. That vision is the ruling party’s development blueprint aimed at turning Zimbabwe into an upper middle income economy by the year 2030. Proponents argue that changing leadership in the middle of that process would disrupt projects and policy.

But the changes have drawn sharp criticism from lawyers, opposition parties and civil society. The Law Society of Zimbabwe has already challenged the amendments in court, arguing that they are unconstitutional. Their main point is that extending the presidential term and changing how a President is elected are fundamental alterations that cannot be made by Parliament alone. They say such changes must go to a national referendum so that citizens can decide directly.

Critics also argue that postponing elections and scrapping direct presidential polls concentrates too much power in Parliament and in the ruling party, which currently holds the majority. They warn that it weakens accountability and rolls back democratic gains made since 2013.

Inside ZANU PF, however, the mood in Harare Province is different. Party officials at the Epworth rally framed the push for 2037 as gratitude and stability. They said Mnangagwa has provided steady leadership, and that Zimbabwe needs that continuity to finish infrastructure projects, attract investment, and deal with economic challenges.

Masimirembwa’s announcement means the debate inside ZANU PF is moving quickly from “2030” to “2037.” The 2030 campaign was itself launched by structures in the provinces and in the youth and women’s leagues, who argued that Mnangagwa deserved more time to deliver on his promises. Now Harare is trying to set the tone again by being the first to formally call for a longer extension.

If the resolution makes it to the party conference and is adopted, it will put pressure on the national leadership to respond. The party constitution allows for conferences to make recommendations on leadership, but any change to the national constitution would still have to go through Parliament.

For now, Mnangagwa has not publicly commented on the Harare proposal. Since signing Amendment No. 3 he has focused his public remarks on development, unity and delivering on Vision 2030.

Outside the party, opposition leaders have said the 2037 call proves their fears that Amendment No. 3 was never the end point. They argue it was the first step in a longer plan to keep the current leadership in place indefinitely.

Civil society groups are also watching closely. They say the combination of longer terms, delayed elections and indirect presidential selection creates a dangerous precedent for Zimbabwe’s democracy.

With the next party conference still to be scheduled, the Harare resolution is likely to dominate internal ZANU PF discussions in the coming months. Whether it gains traction in other provinces remains to be seen, but the move has already reignited national debate about term limits, constitutionalism and the direction of Zimbabwean politics.

For supporters, an extended Mnangagwa presidency means stability and the chance to finish long-term projects.

For opponents, it looks like another attempt to close the democratic space. What happens next will depend on how the party, Parliament and the courts respond to both the new law and the fresh push from Harare Province.