Jittery Mutsvangwa struggles to convince media over why Zanu PF is skirting referendum

A VISIBLY jittery Christopher Mutsvangwa struggled to fend off probing questions from journalists over why his principal is avoiding a referendum to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3.

The Zanu PF spokesman maintained that the ruling party is acting within the confines of the constitution in its push for the controversial bill, insisting that even the judiciary would confirm the move as legally binding.

Zimbabwe is at a crossroads after Parliament Monday gazetted the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which seeks to introduce sweeping changes to the supreme law of the land.

Chief among them is a proposal to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office by two years, effectively granting him extra time in power without facing an election.

Political analysts were quick to argue that Zanu PF has resorted to this route after realising that Mnangagwa’s popularity has waned, particularly when measured against Nelson Chamisa.

They note his underwhelming performances in the 2018 and 2023 elections and suggest the party is keen to avoid further political embarrassment.

Both the 2018 and 2023 polls, which pitted Chamisa against Mnangagwa, were fiercely disputed. For the first time in Zimbabwe’s electoral history, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Observer Mission’s preliminary report stated that the plebiscite failed to meet the minimum threshold of credibility.

At one stage, Zanu PF reportedly toyed with the idea of raising the minimum age for presidential candidates to 55 a move widely interpreted as an attempt to sideline the youthful and popular Chamisa.

Against this backdrop, Mutsvangwa insisted that Zanu PF remains firmly in command of public support.

He argued that even if the bill were subjected to a national referendum, ordinary citizens would endorse the proposed changes.

Addressing journalists in Harare Thursday, he pointed to ongoing by-elections in which Zanu PF is winning “without a hustle” as evidence of the party’s popularity equating those contests to a potential referendum, despite the fact that the proposed constitutional changes have drawn opposition across the political divide, including from some within his own party.

“We are not afraid of a referendum. If by-elections which are going on now are an indication, we will still sweep in the referendum if that become the way to go,” he said.

Following the dramatic takeover of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) from Chamisa and its effective handover to Sengezo Tshabangu, Zanu PF now enjoys an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

This came after Tshabangu recalled opposition MPs and barred them from contesting subsequent by-elections, leaving Zanu PF to compete largely unchallenged.

It is this Parliament forged in political turbulence that Mutsvangwa says embodies democratic representation and should be entrusted to reflect the will of the people.

“But for the present time, we are the going route of Parliament. In a democracy, representative of the people are in Parliament. Let’s give that process a chance,” he said.

Ironically, Tshabangu’s MPs endorsed the bill even before it was formally gazetted.

Mutsvangwa further argued that his party has solid legal grounds to defend the proposed amendments, despite Section 328 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe expressly stating that certain constitutional changes must be subjected to the people.

“We have no fear of any avenue which maybe availed to us by the interventions of the other two wings of the Zimbabwe governing people which is Parliament and the judiciary. We have no fear.

“We have no fear as a party. We feel that legally we have solid grounds on the issue. We are working in sync with the constitution,” Mutsvangwa said.

Yet critics say the nation’s supreme law is being treated as clay in the hands of politicians, moulded to suit the interests of those in power.

Others describe Zimbabwe as standing on a constitutional knife-edge, as the bill now lies before the nation during the mandatory 90-day process a period some analysts grimly liken to the constitution lying in state, awaiting its burial in May 2026.

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