Zimbabweans in the capital Harare are sharply divided over sweeping constitutional amendments that entrench President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s grip on power, extend his potential stay in office to 2030 and abolish direct presidential elections.

The changes, pushed through by the ruling ZANU PF party, transfer the power to choose the head of state from the electorate to parliament, where ZANU PF holds a commanding majority. Supporters argue this will streamline governance and reduce electoral tensions. Critics say it hollows out the country’s hard-won democratic gains and reverses reforms adopted after the fall of Robert Mugabe.

On Harare’s crowded streets, frustration over daily hardships blends with anger at the political direction. “It’s now law and we can’t change it but if you look around the most important and basic things are not being taken care of,” said resident Allen Isam. “Unemployment is very high and there are now many vendors and touts, even beggars on the streets. Yet now they talk about extending the term to seven years when we are suffering like this. They are only passing this law to suit themselves and we are not comfortable with this law at all.”

Others welcome the amendments as a guarantee of continuity. “We don’t have a problem with the new law,” said another Harare resident, Enerst Karo. “All we need is the current leadership as it is and for the president to continue ruling.”

Legal experts and opposition figures warn that the process used to pass the amendments may itself be unconstitutional. Human rights lawyer Doug Coltart said the package of changes is ripe for challenge in the courts. “The bill is no longer a bill, it is part of our law but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is lawful or that it can’t be challenged,” he said. “It can be challenged and one of the many grounds on which it will be challenged is that the process by which the constitution was amended was not done lawfully.”

Mnangagwa, who took power in a military-backed intervention that ended Mugabe’s nearly four-decade rule, has since won two presidential elections under a constitution that originally limited leaders to two five-year terms. The new framework effectively resets that clock and shifts the centre of political power further toward the ruling party, deepening fears among critics that Zimbabwe is sliding back toward entrenched one-party rule.