Zimbabwe's National Assembly approved a constitutional bill extending presidential terms from five to seven years on the date of June 18, 2026. The change would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030 and would end direct presidential elections, with future heads of state selected by parliament.
Speaker Jacob Mudenda announced that 216 members supported the measure and 42 opposed it. The affirmative vote exceeded the 187 votes needed for a two-thirds majority in the lower house. The bill was then due to move to the Senate, where approval was expected, before being presented to the president for enactment. It had not completed those steps on the event date.
The proposal followed a campaign by Mnangagwa's ruling Zanu-PF party, which has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. Cabinet backed the plan in February. Mnangagwa, 83, had previously said he was a constitutionalist who would observe term limits, making the legislation a significant change to the framework governing the end of his presidency.
Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 after the military-backed removal of Robert Mugabe. He won presidential elections in 2018 and 2023, both of which were disputed. Under the existing schedule, his second term was due to end before the two-year extension contemplated by the new bill.
Zimbabwe's 2013 constitution limited presidents to two terms. It also stated that extending term limits required approval in a national referendum and that an incumbent could not benefit from an extension unless voters endorsed it in a second referendum. The Constitutional Court dismissed a legal effort to block the parliamentary bill on the Wednesday before the vote.
Opposition parties, civil-society organizations and constitutional lawyers argued that changes of this magnitude should go directly to voters rather than be decided by parliament alone. They warned that longer terms and indirect election could weaken public accountability. Supporters said the changes would provide continuity and political stability. Those were competing political arguments; the vote itself established only the lower house's approval.
The legislation therefore combined two structural changes: lengthening the presidency and transferring the choice of president from voters to lawmakers. Its immediate effect depended on the remaining Senate and enactment stages, as well as any further legal or referendum questions. As of June 18, the National Assembly had cleared the required supermajority, but the proposed constitutional system was not yet fully in force. The vote also did not by itself resolve whether Mnangagwa could lawfully benefit from the extension under the 2013 constitution’s safeguards. That question sat at the centre of objections demanding direct voter approval.
