Proposed Constitutional Amendments Don’t Require Referendum, Says Former COPAC Co-Chair 

 

Speaking at a ZANU PF press conference at the party headquarters in Harare on Wednesday, 11 March 2026, Mangwana, who co-chaired COPAC during the drafting of the 2013 constitution, said no referendum would be required for the proposed constitutional amendments. Said Mangwana:

“The question is whether the incumbent should benefit from the current amendment. Yes, there is that provision. If they are a term limit provision, then the current president is not going to benefit from an extension of term limits.

“People are failing to understand something in the Constitution. The Constitution provides that any period below three years is not considered to be a term, and I think that is a very important piece of the law.

“The current amendment is extending [the Presidential term] by two years, which falls short of three years. So if there is an extension by two years, in terms of the Constitution, it’s not a term.

“The proposed amendment seeks to extend by two years, which falls short of a term. So he [Mnangagwa] is not benefiting from an extension of a term because a term is three years.

“I should clarify that the proposed amendment seeks to extend by two years, which does not make it a term.

“In the same manner, when the current president came into office, he finished the term of office of the former president, [Robert] Mugabe.

“That period of nine months, which he served, is not considered to be a term because it’s less than three years.

“In the same manner, an extension by two years is also not considered by law to be a term. So, in effect, he is not getting another term.

“It’s not a third term, and it’s not an extension which requires an amendment to the law as provided by the same Constitution.”