{"id":1250,"date":"2025-10-20T16:35:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=1250"},"modified":"2025-10-20T16:35:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:35:45","slug":"civic-group-condemns-zanu-pf-term-extension-plan-calls-it-an-assault-on-the-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2025\/10\/20\/civic-group-condemns-zanu-pf-term-extension-plan-calls-it-an-assault-on-the-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Civic Group Condemns ZANU PF Term Extension Plan, Calls It \u201cAn Assault on the Constitution\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mutare, 20 October 2025<\/strong> – The Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) has strongly condemned ZANU PF\u2019s resolution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s term of office from 2028 to 2030, describing the move as \u201creckless, unconstitutional, and a direct attack on the will of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution was passed at the ruling party\u2019s 22nd Annual National People\u2019s Conference held in Mutare on Saturday, where delegates directed the Secretary for Legal Affairs to begin implementing the extension by next year\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press statement issued soon after the announcement, CDF said the decision was \u201can assault on the Constitution of Zimbabwe and a dangerous attempt to subvert constitutional order for partisan gain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe law is clear \u2014 any attempt to extend the tenure of an incumbent President demands two national referenda, not a political party resolution,\u201d the group said, citing Section 328 (6\u20139) of the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CDF vowed to mobilize citizens both locally and abroad under the banner #NoTo2030, declaring that it would defend the Constitution from what it called political manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people of Zimbabwe must remain vigilant. The Constitution, our social contract and national covenant, cannot and will not be mutilated to serve narrow political interests,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZimbabwe belongs to its people, not to political elites. The Constitution is sacred \u2014 it is the \u2018Zamu raAmai\u2019 \u2014 and it shall not be touched.\u201d
The group said it was activating its national and diaspora structures \u201cfrom Harare to Bulawayo, from Gweru to Mutare, and across the global diaspora\u201d to safeguard democratic governance and the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa also joined the chorus of criticism, saying the ZANU PF resolution had no authority beyond the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZPF resolutions bind ZPF and her members, not Zimbabwe and her people,\u201d Chamisa posted on social media, adding the hashtag #WeThePeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, ZANU PF defended the resolution as part of a broader agenda to \u201cconsolidate the gains of the Second Republic\u201d and ensure continuity in implementing development programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference also adopted several other resolutions, including calls to \u201cstrengthen and support the ZiG currency to make it the sole legal tender,\u201d \u201cremove the IMTT on transfers,\u201d and \u201cprioritize value addition and beneficiation of minerals.\u201d
Other resolutions directed government to \u201cdeploy ideologically grounded cadres in the civil service,\u201d \u201creview the benefits of public servants and pensioners,\u201d and \u201caccelerate the provision of social safety nets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts say the proposed term extension could reignite political tensions and test Zimbabwe\u2019s constitutional safeguards as the country heads toward the 2028 election cycle.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita Mutare, 20 October 2025 – The Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) has strongly condemned ZANU PF\u2019s resolution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s term of office from 2028 to 2030, describing the move as \u201creckless, unconstitutional, and a direct attack on the will of the people.\u201d The resolution was passed at the ruling party\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1253,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250\/revisions\/1253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}