Zimbabwe opposition vows to stand against new law
Leading Zimbabwe opposition figures vowed Wednesday to challenge at home and internationally constitutional changes that allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term by two years and scrap direct presidential polls.
Mnangagwa, 83, signed the amendments into law on Tuesday after they sailed through parliament, which is dominated by his Zanu-PF party that has held power since independence.
The newly formed People's Coalition -- made up of prominent opposition figures -- called on Zimbabweans to demonstrate while lawyers prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the new law.
"The Constitutional Court will hear the challenge," they said at a media briefing. "The government has guns, money, and media. But the people have numbers."
The group said international organisations such as the United Nations and African Union (AU) "know the Constitution was violated" and would respond.
The changes include a provision that would extend the presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years.
This would effectively allow Mnangagwa to stay in office for two years beyond the end of his constitutionally limited two five-year terms due to end in 2028.
Another amendment gives parliament the power to appoint the president, doing away with direct presidential elections that were introduced in 1987, seven years after independence.
Zimbabwe's opposition is weakened by years of repression and tainted elections, and accuses authorities of repressing efforts to mobilise against the law before it was passed.
Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 in a military-backed coup that ousted Robert Mugabe at the age of 93 and after 37 years in power. He was elected for two five-year terms, in 2018 and 2023.
His camp says the new law will bring "political stability and policy continuity" but critics say it only entrenches the Zanu-PF's long grip on power.
Nelson Chamisa, an opposition leader who lost to Mnangagwa in 2023 in what he described as a fraudulent election, said opposition voices must unite.
"Today, we face a common challenge: oppression," he said in a social media post. "We are organizing... Be and get ready."
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change party also called for mass mobilisation and said it would ask the AU and regional grouping SADC to intervene.
"Zimbabwe cannot be allowed to slide into constitutional dictatorship in silence," it said.