FILE PHOTO: Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa attends the inauguration ceremony of South Africa's president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, Jun 19, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
Zimbabwe's upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to extend presidential terms from five to seven years, which will allow current President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030.
75 senators voted in favour of the draft legislation while four voted against it, above a threshold needed for a two-thirds majority.
The bill, which also includes a provision for the president to be elected by parliament rather than by direct popular vote, will become law when Mnangagwa signs it.
Evidence that Mnangagwa, 83, wanted to stay in power beyond the end of his second term in 2028 emerged about two years ago, when his supporters started chanting slogans at ZANU-PF rallies that he needed more time to complete his agenda.
