HARARE – The powerful Zanu PF Women’s League says it will push the Zanu PF annual conference which got underway in Esigodini on Tuesday to amend the Zimbabwe constitution and raise the minimum age of Presidential Candidates to 52 from the current 40.
The proposal, if adopted, would oblige Zanu PF MPs to vote for a controversial constitutional amendment which appears aimed at preventing MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, who turned 40 in February, from running for President in 2023.
The Women’s League says it passed the resolution which was first adopted by the Zanu PF-aligned Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA).
The resolution will now be up for discussion at the Zanu PF conference to be attended by about 3,000 delegates at Mzingwane High School.
“We support the resolution made by the war veterans; their proposal to say that age limit be set on eligibility to be presidential candidates,” Zanu PF Women’s League secretary Monica Mutsvangwa told the state-run Herald newspaper on Tuesday.
Zanu PF has a two thirds majority in Parliament, which allows the party to amend the Constitution popularly adopted following a referendum in 2013.
The MDC has accused Zanu PF of misplaced priorities, pointing to a failing economy while the ruling party obsesses about frustrating Chamisa’s presidential ambitions.
I propose a minimum age for paying Tax, Duty,Toll gate,to be 52 years.We want people who are mature and have saved enough in life.
— William Zambezi (@williamzambezi) December 9, 2018
The Women’s League also wants all heads of parastatals and government agencies to go through the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology, which was created by the Zanu PF government to “inculcate the revolutionary party’s values”.
