Zimbabweans against extension of presidential term in office

Nearly 80% of Zimbabweans are against the extension of the president’s term in office, according to a survey by Afrobarometer, an African think tank.

The country’s constitution says a president must serve a maximum of two five-year terms but the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front is pushing for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to contest a third term.

Mnangagwa is currently serving his second term which ends in 2028.

The extension can only be effected through a constitutional amendment which must be ratified by the people through a national referendum.

Mnangagwa says he will stick to the constitution.

The survey, which involved 1 200 people, was carried out from 1-15 June.

More men than women and the more educated were opposed to the extension of the term limit.

Afrobarometer is by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the European Union, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Mastercard Foundation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the University of California San Diego, the Global Centre for Pluralism, the World Bank Group, Freedom House, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda, GIZ, and Humanity United.

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