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Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu\u2011PF has publicly dismissed assertions that the push to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s term is a covert move to sideline or signal no confidence in Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.<\/span><\/p>\n Zanu\u2011PF national spokesperson and former ambassador to China, Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa, insisted that Chiwenga is not entitled to replace Mnangagwa automatically and that any suggestion of anointment is misplaced.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is not that we do not want him (Chiwenga). He can declare his candidacy. There is no provision in the Zimbabwean constitution that the vice president is the automatic leader of the country afterwards. We go to elections, and people vote in Zimbabwe for the leadership. So he needs to be voted.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a papacy. This is not cardinals in Rome, sitting in a cabal, deciding that this is going to be the person succeeding the pope. This is a democratic country, and people go to elections. If he wants, he can declare his candidacy for elections in the party or outside the party and do the test of the vote. This effort of someone being anointed for whatever reason, it is totally against the tenets of democratic governance,\u201d Mutsvangwa told SABC News.<\/span><\/p>\n Mutsvangwa said Chiwenga is not the only politician aspiring for higher office in Zimbabwe.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy this particular preoccupation with this particular person, except that there are some people who feel that he should be anointed as the leader of Zimbabwe. This is not a papacy. This is a democratic, constitutionally-run country,\u201d Mutsvangwa insisted.<\/span><\/p>\n Mnangagwa has previously said he is a constitutionalist and would step down in 2028.<\/span><\/p>\n The resolution has drawn a mixed response. Opposition activists and civil society figures have warned the move risks entrenching authoritarian tendencies. Some analysts say the extension could be framed domestically as necessary for continuity while simultaneously raising concerns among donors and regional partners about democratic backsliding.<\/span><\/p>\n Zimbabweans in the diaspora \u2014 including those living in South Africa \u2014 have also voiced unease. In interviews with , some critics argued the extension reveals Zanu\u2011PF\u2019s reluctance to allow a generational leadership change, while supporters countered that stability and economic recovery require continuity at the top.<\/span><\/p>\n Last week, reported that former Zanu PF bigwig and cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere rubbished the former liberation movement’s bold plans to extend Mnangagwa\u2019s term of office to 2030, warning that the move will end badly for both the president and Zimbabwe.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking to , Kasukuwere said:<\/span> \u201cHe (Mnangagwa) is dreaming and he has set himself up for a gigantic failure. Greediness knows no boundaries, and this will lead to a huge disaster for the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n previously reported that Zanu PF has emboldened its move to push through the proposal allowing Mnangagwa to remain in power beyond his current constitutional term, which ends in 2028. The party recently adopted a resolution at its annual conference backing the extension to align with the government\u2019s so-called \u201cVision 2030\u201d development agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n Kasukuwere, once a senior figure in the Zanu PF government led by Robert Mugabe before going into exile during the 2017 military intervention, became one of the most prominent former insiders to condemn the party’s Mnangagwa plan publicly.<\/span><\/p>\n The political debate in South Africa is further complicated by rising anti\u2011immigrant sentiment and calls by some local groups for Zimbabwean migrants to return home. Observers warn that prolonged political uncertainty in Harare could exacerbate tensions in host communities across the region.<\/span><\/p>\n If Zanu\u2011PF moves ahead, the party would refer the resolution to parliament \u2014 where, with its two\u2011thirds majority, it could initiate the constitutional amendment process. That would likely trigger legal and political challenges from opposition parties and civil society, and could prompt increased scrutiny from regional bodies such as SADC and the AU.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether Mnangagwa\u2019s extension will be presented as a caretaker continuity measure or a hard political move to shape succession remains the central political question for the months ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za<\/strong><\/p>\n News<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu\u2011PF has publicly dismissed assertions that the push to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s term is a covert move to sideline or signal no confidence in Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. Zanu\u2011PF national spokesperson and former ambassador to China, Christopher Hatikure Mutsvangwa, insisted that Chiwenga is not entitled to replace Mnangagwa automatically and that any […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[19496,19495,12425,19494,1038,14378,13849,18098,2963],"class_list":["post-258281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-anointed","tag-chiwenga","tag-insists","tag-papacy039","tag-president","tag-successor","tag-vice","tag-zanu","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nReactions at home, in the diaspora and in South Africa<\/span><\/h3>\n
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