By Naledi Nyoni
HARARE — The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has approached the Constitutional Court seeking to have the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No. 3) of 2026 declared unconstitutional, arguing that President Emmerson Mnangagwa unlawfully assented to the legislation without first submitting it to a national referendum.
The urgent application, filed in Harare on Thursday, cites Mnangagwa, Parliament, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and the Attorney General as respondents.
MDC president Douglas Mwonzora, who deposed the founding affidavit on behalf of the party, argues that the President violated the Constitution by signing the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment) Bill (H.B. 1) into law on July 7 without first calling a referendum, as allegedly required under Section 110(2)(f) read together with Section 328(6) of the Constitution.
Section 3 of the Amendment Act, which replaces Section 92 of the Constitution, fundamentally changes how Zimbabwe’s President is elected.
Instead of being chosen through a direct popular vote, the amended provision provides for the president to be elected by Members of Parliament sitting jointly as the National Assembly and Senate.
A candidate must secure more than half of the valid votes cast, failing which a run-off is held between the two leading candidates.
The MDC argues that the amendment effectively removes the constitutional right of ordinary Zimbabweans to elect the president, limiting that power exclusively to legislators.
“What the above means is that the right to vote for president has now been removed from the general populace and is now a preserve of only those Zimbabweans who are members of parliament,” Mwonzora states in the founding affidavit.
The party contends that because the amendment affects rights protected under Section 67(3)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees every eligible citizen the right to vote, it amounts to an amendment of the Declaration of Rights and therefore required approval through a national referendum before it could be enacted.
The application also challenges other provisions introduced by Constitutional Amendment No. 3.
Section 5 extends presidential terms from five to seven years and provides that the change applies retrospectively to the incumbent president despite constitutional safeguards that ordinarily prevent amendments from benefiting serving officeholders.
Section 10 similarly extends the life of Parliament from five to seven years and applies the change to the current National Assembly and Senate.
The legislation also transfers responsibility for voter registration and the compilation of the voters’ roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to the Registrar-General, while expanding the Senate from 80 to 90 members through the addition of 10 presidential appointees.
Mwonzora argues that Mnangagwa, as the direct beneficiary of the amendments extending presidential tenure, should not have assented to the legislation without first complying with the constitutional requirement for a referendum,
The affidavit further argues that, since the introduction of the executive presidency, Zimbabwean citizens have always directly elected the head of state, and that the new system introduces what it describes as a “qualified franchise” by confining that right to Members of Parliament.
The MDC is asking the Constitutional Court to declare that the incumbent failed to comply with his constitutional obligations under Sections 90(1), 110(2)(f) and 328(6), and to declare Section 3 of the Amendment Act invalid.
Alternatively, the party wants the court to order Mnangagwa to submit the amendment to a national referendum within three months. It is also seeking an order for costs against the respondents.
