HARARE – Zanu PF spokesman Christopher Mutsvangwa has warned ambitious party members to bide their time until 2030, as President Emmerson Mnangagwa is safely secure until then, amid simmering factional tensions within the ruling party.

Zanu PF has adopted a resolution to extend Mnangagwa’s term by two years, from 2028 to 2030, and the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill is currently before parliament.

The bill, which faces growing demands for a referendum, would extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years and replace direct presidential elections with a vote by a joint sitting of parliament – a change that would also strip the vice president of the automatic right to assume the presidency in the event of the president’s death, incapacitation or impeachment.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is reported to be opposed to the bill, a stance widely read within the party as reflecting his own presidential ambitions.

Mutsvangwa, himself reported to harbour leadership ambitions, made no reference to Chiwenga when he addressed a press conference on Wednesday, but his message appeared squarely directed at those manoeuvring for position.

“If you have ambitions as a faction or whoever is trying to take over from him, just wait for 2030. It will come. It will not be removed from the calendar of Zimbabwe. It will still be there – just make sure you keep healthy and if you’re a member of the party just make sure that you maintain your standing with the membership in good state so that your candidacy come 2030 can enjoy the support which it should,” Mutsvangwa said.

He also warned unnamed individuals he claimed were fuelling divisions within the party before the end of Mnangagwa’s term.

“Don’t try to make noises between now and 2030 because the door has been closed,” he said.

Zanu PF is due to hold its elective congress in 2027, where Mnangagwa’s successor was set to emerge before elections in 2028. Both events are now under threat from the constitutional amendment bill.

Mutsvangwa has not been an enthusiastic supporter of the bill and again passed up the opportunity to defend it publicly.

“We have not wanted as a party to officially talk too much about the constitutional amendment bill,” he said, adding that the party’s commissariat and administrative departments were participating in parliamentary consultations.

“There is no particular need for the president or indeed for myself to continue to talk about this issue because it is something which is in the process – maybe it is even sub judice.”

Zanu PF has sidestepped opposition and civil society demands for a referendum, seeking instead to push the bill through parliament.

Party sources say a joint sitting has been pencilled in for May 18, after which the bill would be sent to Mnangagwa for his signature – potentially making it law as early as May 19.