Sithembinkosi L Jiyane
Political Reporter
www.zimgbcnews.co.zw<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eZimbabwe\u2019s Cabinet has approved the draft Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill of 2026, sending shockwaves across the country. Government officials say the reforms are designed to strengthen stability and ensure continuity in national programmes, but critics warn they could drastically reshape the nation\u2019s democracy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sithembinkosi L JiyanePolitical Reporterwww.zimgbcnews.co.zw \u200eZimbabwe\u2019s Cabinet has approved the draft Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill of 2026, sending shockwaves across the country. Government officials say the reforms are designed to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12187,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12185\/revisions\/12187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\u200eJustice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi defended the Bill, arguing that longer presidential and parliamentary terms would allow authorities to complete development projects without disruption from constant elections.
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\u200eGovernment spokesperson Nick Mangwana added that frequent electoral cycles place strain on national planning and resources, making the proposed reforms necessary for progress.
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\u200eYet opposition groups and civil society organisations have sounded the alarm. The Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) described the Bill as a direct threat to Zimbabwe\u2019s constitutional order. They warned that shifting power from citizens to political elites could centralise authority, weaken accountability, and undermine electoral integrity.
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\u200eThe CDF also raised concerns over transferring voter registration back to the Registrar-General, scrapping public judicial interviews, and expanding the President\u2019s influence in Parliament through ten additional senatorial appointments.
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\u200e\u201cThis proposal amounts to a constitutional coup against the people and risks undoing the democratic gains secured under the 2013 Constitution,\u201d said the CDF in a statement.
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\u200eAmong the most controversial measures is the proposed method of electing the President. Instead of being directly chosen by citizens, the President would be selected by Parliament at a joint sitting overseen by the Chief Justice or a designated judge.
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\u200eThe Bill also seeks to extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, effectively postponing the next elections to 2030.
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\u200eOther sweeping reforms would alter the constitutional role of the Defence Forces, replacing their duty to \u201cuphold\u201d the Constitution with a mandate to act merely \u201cin accordance with\u201d it.
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\u200eThe Bill also proposes abolishing the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and merging its functions into the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, raising fears that gender equality issues could be sidelined.
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\u200eOpposition figures and legal experts have vowed to fight the Bill through courts, Parliament, and public demonstrations.
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\u200ePolitical activist Jacob Ngarivhume said citizens would be mobilised to exercise their constitutional right to protest.
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\u200eHe added:
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\u200e\u201cThe street theatre will ensure that the other two, courts and parliament, listen,\u201d hinting that a people\u2019s referendum could soon be called.
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\u200eConstitutional lawyer Advocate Fadzayi Mahere questioned why a president with sweeping powers should avoid direct election by the people. She warned that extending terms without voter approval risks weakening democratic accountability. She also highlighted concerns about moving control of the voters\u2019 roll back to the Registrar-General, citing past credibility issues.
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\u200e\u201cWhy should an executive president with sweeping powers be afraid of seeking a proper mandate from the people?\u201d asked Advocate Mahere.
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\u200ePolitical analyst Dr Phillan Zamchiya described the reforms as \u201cpolitical reengineering,\u201d arguing that extending terms and moving presidential selection to Parliament reduces electoral pressure on incumbents while consolidating power in the hands of political elites.
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\u200eMeanwhile, women\u2019s rights advocates cautioned that abolishing the Zimbabwe Gender Commission could weaken attention to issues such as gender-based violence, education, and economic opportunities for women and girls.
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\u200eCivil society groups are calling for broad public consultation, insisting that reforms of this magnitude require direct citizen consent. Observers warn that the outcome could determine not only who leads Zimbabwe, but also how power is distributed and checked within the state for years to come.
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