HARARE
—
Voters
across
the
country
have
filed
urgent
applications
in
the
Constitutional
Court
seeking
to
stop
their
Members
of
Parliament
from
voting
for
the
Constitutional
Amendment
(No.
3)
Bill.
The
bill,
which
would
extend
the
term
of
office
for
the
sitting
MPs,
councillors
and
also
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
by
two
years
from
2028
to
2030,
is
facing
fierce
opposition
from
a
cross-section
of
Zimbabweans
including
lawyers
who
say
the
incumbents
cannot
benefit
unless
the
law
changes
are
subjected
to
referendum.
ZimLive
understands
67
applications
were
served
on
MPs
as
they
left
parliament
on
Tuesday
following
the
first
reading
of
the
bill
by
Justice
Minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi.
An
official
from
the
opposition
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change
said
30
MPs
had
been
served,
suggesting
the
37
others
were
served
on
Zanu
PF
lawmakers.
Legal
sources
said
all
210
MPs
face
court
action.
In
one
such
application,
Tambara
Casper,
a
registered
voter
in
Nyanga
North,
filed
an
application
against
Chido
Sanyatwe,
the
incumbent
MP
for
that
constituency,
on
May
22,
2026.
The
papers
were
received
by
the
Constitutional
Court
on
May
27,
2026.
Casper,
represented
by
Coghlan,
Welsh
&
Guest
Legal
Practitioners,
is
not
seeking
to
stop
the
bill
outright.
Instead,
he
wants
the
court
to
declare
that
even
if
the
amendment
passes,
Sanyatwe
–
as
an
incumbent
MP
–
cannot
lawfully
benefit
from
it
and
must
vacate
his
seat
when
the
current
parliamentary
term
expires
on
September
3,
2028.
Sanyatwe
is
the
wife
of
the
retired
former
commander
of
the
Zimbabwe
National
Army,
Anselem
Sanyatwe,
an
ally
of
vice
president
Constantino
Chiwenga
who
is
thought
to
be
opposed
to
an
extension
of
Mnangagwa’s
term.
The
application
targets
two
provisions
of
the
bill.
The
first
is
the
proposed
extension
of
the
parliamentary
term
from
five
to
seven
years,
which
includes
a
“notwithstanding
section
328(7)”
clause
that
Casper
argues
is
an
unconstitutional
attempt
to
sidestep
the
constitution’s
own
amendment
safeguards.
The
second
is
the
proposed
shift
to
an
electoral
college
system
under
which
the
president
would
no
longer
be
directly
elected
by
voters
but
chosen
by
MPs
in
a
joint
sitting
of
parliament.
Casper
argues
that
sections
143
and
158
of
the
constitution,
read
together
with
section
124,
are
term-limit
provisions,
and
that
section
328(7)
expressly
bars
any
amendment
extending
a
term
from
applying
to
incumbents
already
holding
office.
He
contends
the
bill’s
“notwithstanding”
formula
does
not
neutralise
that
bar
–
it
amounts
to
what
he
calls
“amendment
by
evasion.”
On
the
presidential
election
clause,
Casper
argues
the
proposed
change
directly
violates
his
political
rights
under
section
67
of
the
constitution,
stripping
him
of
the
right
to
vote
for
the
country’s
head
of
state
and
transferring
that
choice
to
parliament
–
including
to
Sanyatwe
herself.
Casper
is
asking
the
court
for
leave
to
proceed
directly
to
the
Constitutional
Court
without
first
going
through
lower
courts,
arguing
the
matter
is
of
exceptional
public
importance
and
involves
pure
questions
of
constitutional
law
requiring
no
factual
evidence
beyond
the
texts
of
the
constitution
and
the
bill
itself.
The
strategy
of
targeting
individual
MPs
through
their
own
constituencies
rather
than
mounting
a
single
omnibus
challenge
reflects
a
calculation
that
flooding
the
Constitutional
Court
with
parallel
applications
from
voters
across
Zimbabwe’s
210
constituencies
could
make
it
practically
impossible
for
parliament
to
hold
a
free
vote
on
the
bill
before
its
resolved
by
the
top
court.
Meanwhile,
Zanu
PF
which
enjoys
a
sweeping
majority
in
parliament
has
summoned
its
MPs
for
a
caucus
meeting
on
Wednesday,
according
to
a
notice
by
its
chief
whip
Pupurai
Togarepi.