THE ruling Zanu-PF party is headed for another potentially bruising factional battle over a push to postpone its next elective congress, with opponents arguing that the proposed change to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure as party leader can violate the party’s constitution and set a dangerous precedent. The push, emerging from provincial structures ahead of […] The post Fresh row erupts over Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF term appeared first on newsday .
THE ruling Zanu-PF party is headed for another potentially bruising factional battle over a push to postpone its next elective congress, with opponents arguing that the proposed change to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure as party leader can violate the party’s constitution and set a dangerous precedent.
The push, emerging from provincial structures ahead of the party’s national people’s conference in Chinhoyi in October, has revived tensions over succession and internal democracy, amid allegations that money is being used to secure support for resolutions backing the postponement.
The proposed changes could determine how Zanu-PF aligns its internal leadership timetable with Constitution Amendment Act No 3, which extended Mnangagwa’s national term to 2030.
While the amendment altered the national political calendar, critics argue that the ruling party must follow its constitution before extending the tenure of its first secretary and postponing elective congress.
Party structures are holding provincial meetings ahead of the national people’s conference, where resolutions from the provinces are expected to be considered.
Sources said the campaign to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure as Zanu-PF leader to 2030 has opened fresh divisions within the party, amid allegations that a section of the leadership and business interests are using money to secure support for the proposal.
Under Constitution Amendment Act No 3, Mnangagwa’s presidential term was extended to 2030 and his loyalists are pushing for his Zanu PF tenure to be aligned accordingly.
Critics say Zanu-PF’s constitution only provides for the election of the party’s leadership at congress and the extension of Mnangagwa’s term can only be done in 2027 when the congress is due.
‘The leader is selected at congress, but Mnangagwa’s term now ends in 2030, according to CAA3, yet the party has not ratified that change,” a source told NewsDay.
“The change should be done by congress, but a section of Zanu PF wants to push the congress to 2029 using the central committee, which is against the provisions of the party constitution.
“The loyalists are buying provincial structures to move a motion that congress be moved to 2030. Provinces have since started making such resolutions.”
The Zanu-PF Harare province met over the weekend and endorsed Mnangagwa as the party’s president and first secretary until 2030.
The sources questioned how such a resolution can be implemented without approval of congress.
“How are they going to do so without a congress resolution? They want to use the politburo and then the central committee to supplant congress and adopt the resolution,’ another source said,
“This is against the party constitution. Such a decision needs a congress. Money is changing hands to move the congress to 2029.”
However, Zanu-PF director of information Farai Marapira dismissed the allegations, saying there was nothing irregular about provinces passing resolutions for consideration by the national people’s conference.
“What the provinces are doing is in order as they will forward them to the annual people’s conference for consideration. As of now, it’s not a party position,” Marapira said.
“If it is deliberated and passed at the annual conference, that’s when it becomes a party position.
“Provinces should feel free to pass their provincial resolutions because it is their party’s constitutional right.”
Political commentator Ruben Mbofana said Zanu-PF’s constitution established the national people’s congress as the party’s highest decision-making body.
“Relying on lower or administrative bodies, such as the central committee or provincial executive councils, to alter these timelines risks weakening internal party democracy by concentrating constitutional powers within executive structures,” he said.
“While administrative convenience or synchronised governance cycles are frequently cited as a rationale, altering fundamental electoral timelines without direct authority from a full congress sets a precedent where rules can be continually reshaped by incumbent interests.”
Mbofana described the latest push as a “factional management strategy.”
‘Ultimately, the debate exposes the underlying factional management strategies within the ruling party,” he said.
“Managing succession and elite competition has historically required a balance between procedural adherence and political consensus.
“Postponing an elective congress may temporarily suppress factional friction and consolidate executive authority, but it risks storing up internal grievances by limiting formal avenues for leadership contestation.
“Whether framed as a necessary measure for stability or as avoidance of democratic accountability, the resolution demonstrates how rules within dominant-party systems are routinely tested and reinterpreted to suit the evolving priorities of leadership.”
Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu, however, said the proposed resolution was effectively a done deal because Zanu PF had to align its elective processes with the amended national constitution.
“It only makes sense that whoever is the party candidate has both the national and party mandate over a given time,” Mukunsu said.
“My view is that those opposed to the party changing its constitution should have argued this before the passage of CAB3 [Constitution Amendment Bill No 3]. As things stand, the horse has bolted from the stables.”
Zanu-PF has been dogged by factional battles since Mnangagwa replaced former president Robert Mugabe in 2017, with much of the internal contest centred on succession and control of the party.
The latest debate comes amid continued speculation over who will eventually succeed Mnangagwa, with tensions between competing factions periodically spilling into the public domain.
The internal struggle became more visible in late 2025 after Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga presented a dossier accusing the president’s allies of massive corruption.
Mnangagwa’s loyalists responded by accusing Chiwenga of plotting a coup with senior figures, while war veterans, including the late Blessed Geza, also publicly criticised the President over governance failures.
The push to postpone the elective congress is set to become another test of Zanu-PF’s ability to manage succession pressures and factional competition while maintaining unity behind Mnangagwa’s extended tenure.
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