ED2030: Nothing stops Zanu-PF

Sections 91, 95, and 328 of the Zimbabwe Constitution do not require a referendum to introduce a 7 year Presidential term and do not prohibit a sitting President from benefiting from the 7 year term!!!  Law is still my passion. But I have not practiced it in a long time. So, rather than make submissions on the whole Constitution, I will limit my submissions to Sections 91, 95 and 328.

Much has been written about Section 91. It deals with the number of terms and not the duration of a single term. My concern is the duration of a single term. Therefore, I will not say more about Section 91. Section 95 appears to acknowledge that there is or could be another provision elsewhere that sets out Presidential terms. The 5 year term limit seems to only apply in the absence of another provision to the contrary elsewhere in the Constitution. It (Section 95) says in subsection 2:

The term of office for President or Vice President extends until - (a) he or she resigns or is removed from office; or(b) following an election, he or she is declared to have been reelected or a new President is declared to have been electedAnd, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, their term of office are five years, coterminous with the life of Parliament.

If this is correct, there is nothing to stop Zanu PF through Parliament, and without referendum, from introducing a new constitutional provision providing for Presidential term limits other than the 5 year Limit. Put differently, there is nothing to stop Parliament, with the necessary majority, from introducing a clause that says, "A Presidential term shall be 7, 8, or 10 years".  Such a provision would not amend Section 95 (assuming it is the only section that provides for a Presidential term limit of 5 years). Such an insertion would apply to the sitting President without falling foul of Section 328(7) because the insertion will not be "an amendment to a term limit provision ".  It will simply be an insertion to fill a gape or lacuna in the constitution.  

It appears the drafters of the Constitution did not themselves know the duration of the term of office they wanted. If they wanted a five-year term, it must have been very easy to just say that, "The duration of a Presidential term shall be 5 years" rather than frame Section 95 the way they did. 

I am not advocating for an amendment of the Constitution.  I am merely pointing out that there appears to be nothing stopping Zanu PF through Parliament from inserting a 7 year Presidential term provision in the Constitution without amending or contradicting section 95, and that there is nothing to Stop President Mnangagwa from benefiting from such an insertion.