Local Government minister Daniel Garwe has thrown his weight behind the newly gazetted Constitutional Amendment Bill (No. 3), dismissing the 2013 Constitution as a "marriage of convenience" with the opposition, which does not serve the ruling Zanu PF party.
Garwe, who has in recent months emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term extension, said the proposed amendments reflect what he described as "realities on the ground."
The Constitutional Amendment Bill (No. 3), gazetted this week following Cabinet approval, proposes sweeping changes including extending presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years and transferring the power to elect the president from the public to Parliament.
The proposals have triggered backlash from constitutional lawyers, rights groups and war veterans, who argue the amendments weaken democratic accountability and amount to an attempt to consolidate executive power.
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Addressing Zanu PF supporters at Chikomba Rural District Council in Chivhu, Garwe said the current Constitution was out of compromise with the then Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"The Constitution of 2013 was a marriage of convenience between Zanu PF and MDC. In a marriage of convenience, then, our belief systems were at odds with the opposition; hence, it did not last," Garwe said.
He argued that the current constitution was shaped by opposition demands at the time, which he suggested no longer reflected Zimbabwe's political landscape.
"The realities were politics. We must go for an election. We must have an election. Chiefs must not participate in the political issues. It was driven by the opposition because they knew the power and strength of Zanu PF.
"But it was a compromise. The person who was leading the Constitutional process was none other than now, the President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
"Now we have gone through a full cycle process of evolving. There is no political party other than Zanu PF to meaningfully talk about," he said.
"We cannot therefore continue moving forward with that type of constitution, hence the Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) so that it now speaks on the realities on the ground which are about development of the party, none other than Zanu PF."
Rights defenders say the proposed amendments risk undermining democratic principles by weakening direct electoral accountability and extending political terms without public consent.
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A group of war veterans has already mounted legal challenges against the Bill, describing it as an "unconstitutional power grab" by Mnangagwa.
