The Zimbabwe Communist Party (ZCP) has described the passage of Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3) by the National Assembly as a “constitutional coup,” arguing that the overwhelming parliamentary support for the proposed changes reflected an imposed political decision rather than a genuine expression of the will of Zimbabweans.
ZCP General Secretary, Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena, said the vote, which saw 216 legislators support the Bill against 42 who opposed it, should not be viewed simply through the lens of parliamentary numbers, but against the backdrop of a shrinking democratic space, the weakening of opposition representation and Zanu PF’s historical approach to leadership succession.
On June 18, 2026, Zimbabwe’s National Assembly passed the contentious Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 after a third reading vote, paving the way for far-reaching changes to the country’s supreme law.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2023, is due to leave office in 2028 under the current constitutional term limits.
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He will turn 84 on September 15, 2026 and if CAB3 is ultimately signed into law and implemented as proposed, he could remain in office until 2030, when he would be 88 years old.
Reacting to the passage of CAB3, Mabhena said the process had the appearance of democratic legitimacy on paper, but the reality was markedly different.
“It is a constitutional coup because on paper you would want to celebrate such when you hear that 216 MPs voted in favour and 42 voted against because one would believe that the MPs are carrying the mandate from their own people that they represent in Parliament,” Mabhena said.
“You would also celebrate when we are told that of the 540 037 submissions made, only 2 935 were against and 537 102 were in favour of this process.”
However, Mabhena argued that the political environment in which consultations were conducted was not conducive to free participation.
“But the reality though on the ground is that the political space was closed down when Parliament started engaging in this. Everyone who was opposed to this was not given an opportunity. Political activists, opposition leaders and civil society were arrested or denied the right to participate in the public consultations,” he said.
“It became a Zanu PF consultation process based on parliamentary garments.”
Mabhena also questioned the legitimacy of some legislators who voted in favour of the Bill, pointing to recalls that followed the 2023 elections.
“After the 2023 elections, the opposition was hijacked. We saw the recalls. So you have quite a number of Members of Parliament who never subjected themselves to an electoral process. They were appointed to be in Parliament after recalling those that were elected by the people,” he stated.
“So these MPs do not represent the people they purport to represent in Parliament, but they are just Zanu PF MPs. This is why you have this high number of those who voted yes. So it’s a constitutional coup which should be rejected by all progressive forces.”
Asked whether the National Assembly vote reflected mere party discipline, considering Zanu PF’s dominance in the lower house and the expected support of traditional chiefs in the Senate, Mabhena said whatever result was “an imposed decision by the party.”
“It represents what one would call an imposed decision by the party because we know that Zanu PF members themselves cannot think on their own,” he alleged.
Drawing parallels with the events surrounding President Mnangagwa’s rise to power in 2017, Mabhena said ruling party members had demonstrated a willingness to abruptly change positions depending on prevailing political circumstances.
“You will recall that in 2017, just in a space of two weeks, 14 days earlier, they were celebrating the firing of then Vice-President Mnangagwa. Two weeks later, when the military then moved into the streets of Harare, they then began to sing the praises of the man they celebrated had been fired,” he said.
“We cannot argue and say that in a space of two weeks, Zanu PF’s structures sat down and reviewed their decisions. They were just implementing what they were told by military intelligence.”
Mabhena suggested the same legislators who voted to support extending President Mnangagwa’s tenure could easily reverse their position if the country’s political dynamics shifted again.
“You would be surprised that if something similar were to happen to 2017, the very MPs who voted in favour of this term extension would once again be singing a different tune,” he said.
“So Zimbabwe, of course, as we have always said, is a deep militaristic state. Zanu PF does not practice democracy.”
He further argued that the ruling party has never undergone a democratic leadership transition since its formation in 1963.
“Zanu PF has never changed its leadership democratically since it was established in 1963. You can go back to Ndabaningi Sithole in 1974, how ZANLA commanders forced him out and appointed (the late Robert) Mugabe and of course recently in 2017,” he said.
“And Mnangagwa does not want to be the first leader in Zanu PF to democratically pass the leadership pattern.”
CAB3 now proceeds to the Senate, where it requires approval before it can be presented to the President for assent.
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