The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has indicated that it will not intervene in Zimbabwe’s domestic political developments after the controversial Constitutional Amendment Act 3 (CAA3) extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term in office.
Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded SADC summit in Durban, South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the regional body saw no reason to express concern over the amendment.
Magwenya explained that the process had followed various domestic legal steps, and SADC does not comment on domestic processes as long as they are carried out within domestic legal frameworks, which he said is what happened in Zimbabwe.
CAA3, signed into law in July, has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who argue that presidential term extensions should not have benefited the incumbent. Critics also claim the amendment required a national referendum under Zimbabwe’s constitution, a position successfully challenged by the ruling ZANU PF.
The law extends Mnangagwa’s tenure from 2028 to 2030 and grants him authority to appoint 10 additional senators. It also removes direct presidential elections, transferring that power to parliamentarians and senators, and shifts voter registration from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to the Registrar General’s office.
Magwenya added that the amendment has not constituted a crisis that the region needs to grapple with. South Africa assumed the SADC chairmanship from Zimbabwe at the summit, which concluded on 17 August.
