If those in power genuinely want continuity and stability they should strengthen institutions rather than extend tenures

Those who seek to implement unpopular changes often cloak them in seemingly legitimate causes.

The rhetoric of "stability" and "continuity" has become the well-worn armor of the ZANU-PF regime, yet as the nation stares down the barrel of Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 in 2026, the metal is beginning to show its rust. 

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We are told, with a straight face by the architects of this bill, that five years is too brief a window to paint the masterpiece of Vision 2030 and that the "perpetual fever" of direct presidential elections is a luxury our developing economy can no longer afford. 

They argue for a transition to a seven-year term and a parliamentary selection process for the presidency, framing these shifts as a pragmatic evolution toward "African standards" of governance. 

However, the veneer of statecraft cannot hide the scaffolding of a personal power project. 

If the authorities were truly sincere in their desire for continuity, stability, and the de-politicization of the Zimbabwean state - rather than the desperate entrenchment of a leader who has consistently trailed the popularity of his own party at the polls - they would not be tinkering with the sacred architecture of term limits. 

Instead, they would be strengthening the very institutional guardrails they have spent years systematically dismantling.

True continuity is not found in the longevity of a single man; it is found in the resilience of a system that survives him. 

To suggest that a developmental vision depends entirely on the presence of one individual is not a testament to that leader's indispensability, but a confession of his institutional failure. 

If Vision 2030 is to be anything more than a slogan, it must be capable of outliving its progenitor. 

If the regime were serious about continuity, the constitutional priority would not be extending the President's stay, but reinstating the "running mate" clause originally envisioned in the 2013 Constitution. 

By ensuring that a Vice President is elected on the same ticket and holds a clear, popular mandate, the constitution provides a predictable and stable succession mechanism. 

This removes the existential anxiety of a "succession vacuum" that currently haunts the ruling party and the nation. 

A clear, constitutionally mandated successor provides the markets and the people with the certainty that policy will not vanish overnight. 

Instead, the regime moved in Amendment No. 2 to give the President the power to appoint and dismiss deputies at whim, effectively turning the office of the Vice Presidency into a revolving door of patronage. 

Reverting this to a stable, elected partnership would do more for national continuity than a dozen extra years for an incumbent.

Stability, meanwhile, is not the absence of elections, but the presence of trust in their results. 

The regime's proposal to move to a parliamentary selection of the President is framed as a way to reduce the "tension" of a direct race. 

In reality, this is a retreat from the people. 

It is an admission that the President cannot win a direct mandate from the citizens and must instead rely on a whipped parliamentary majority. 

This does not bring stability; it breeds a profound, simmering resentment among a populace that feels its primary democratic right has been stolen and moved into a smoke-filled room. 

If the goal is truly to stabilize the political landscape, the amendment we need is one that grants the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) genuine, unimpeachable independence. 

Currently, the appointment of commissioners and the management of the voters' roll remain under a thick cloud of executive influence. 

A constitutional amendment that ensures ZEC commissioners are appointed by a non-partisan, multi-stakeholder body—and that their results are audited by a truly independent judiciary—would end the cycle of contested elections that actually drives national instability. 

When the results are beyond reproach, the "election fever" is replaced by the healthy rhythm of a democracy at work.

Furthermore, if the regime truly wishes to "de-politicize" the state, it should look at the security sector and the judiciary rather than the calendar. 

The current proposals to create a new, Presidentially-appointed Delimitation Commission and to appoint ten more Senators are the antithesis of de-politicization; they are the active "partisanization" of state machinery. 

Real de-politicization would involve strengthening Section 208 of the Constitution, which demands that the security services remain neutral. 

We need amendments that create robust, independent oversight mechanisms to ensure that no general or police chief can act as a political commissar for a ruling party. 

When the sword of the state is no longer a tool of a party, the political temperature of the country will drop overnight. 

Likewise, the judiciary's independence has been eroded by amendments that allow the President to extend the tenure of senior judges and bypass the public interview process for key appointments. 

If we want stability, we need a judiciary that the citizen knows will rule against the President when the law demands it. 

Re-strengthening the independence of judicial appointments would provide the ultimate check on power, ensuring that "continuity" does not mean the continuity of lawlessness.

The regime also speaks of "institutional efficiency," yet they have willfully ignored the most efficient tool for stability already in our constitution: devolution. 

Chapter 14 of the 2013 Constitution was designed to decentralize power, ensuring that communities in Matabeleland, Manicaland, and the Midlands have the authority and resources to manage their own affairs. 

A fully devolved state is inherently more stable because the stakes of the "center" are lowered. 

If power is spread, the identity of the person sitting in State House in Harare becomes less of an existential crisis for the rest of the country. 

Rather than seeking to centralize more power through a parliamentary selection process, a sincere government would be amending the constitution to put teeth into the devolution clauses, ensuring that the 5% budget allocation to local authorities is not a suggestion but a constitutional mandate. 

This would guarantee that development continues at the grassroots level regardless of the political weather in the capital.

The tragedy of Bill No. 3 is that it treats the constitution as a personal diary rather than a national covenant. 

A sacred document is being treated as a logistical hurdle to be cleared. 

If the leaders in authority believe their own rhetoric about the need for a "modernized constitutional order," they would be the first to defend the term limits that protect the nation from the stagnation of "big man" politics. 

They would recognize that the most "progressive" African standard is not the seven-year term of the autocrat, but the peaceful transfer of power that signals a mature state. 

We do not need a longer presidency; we need a stronger citizenry. 

We do not need a parliamentary selection of a leader; we need a leader who respects the primary mandate of the people. 

If they are adamant about changing the constitution, let them change the provisions that allow for the capture of our commissions, the weaponization of our courts, and the centralization of our resources. 

Anything else is not an amendment for the nation's benefit, but a legalistic coup against the future of Zimbabwe. 

Let us not be fooled by the high-minded language of continuity when what is being sought is the terminal breath of a democracy. 

The true path to stability is not found in the extension of a failing tenure, but in the unwavering commitment to the rules of the game, even when those rules dictate that the time has come to leave the field.

© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. To directly receive his articles please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08