Zim GBC News | Political Correspondent
Zanu PF has moved to quell growing political speculation, firmly stating that Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is not the automatic successor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and must contest for the position like any other candidate.
The party’s comments come amidst a controversial resolution to extend President Mnangagwa’s term, a move some analysts interpreted as a strategy to sideline his deputy.
In a robust interview with SABC News, Zanu PF National Spokesperson, Christopher Mutsvangwa, dismissed any notion of an anointed successor, drawing a sharp distinction between Zimbabwean politics and religious leadership.
“It is not that we do not want him. He can declare his candidacy,” Mutsvangwa stated.
“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.”
He further elaborated,
“This 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.”
Mutsvangwa insisted that the focus on Chiwenga was unwarranted, emphasising the country’s constitutional processes.
“Why 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.”
The ruling party recently adopted a resolution to extend President Mnangagwa’s term to align with the government’s “Vision 2030” development agenda, a move that has drawn mixed reactions.
While supporters argue it ensures stability for economic recovery, critics, including former Zanu PF minister Saviour Kasukuwere, have labelled the plan a “gigantic failure” driven by “greediness.”
Opposition groups and civil society have warned that the extension risks entrenching authoritarian rule. The resolution is expected to be tabled in Parliament, where Zanu PF holds a two-thirds majority required to enact a constitutional amendment, a process likely to face legal and political challenges.
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