From Two Referendums To None: Chinamasa Changes Tune On Constitutional Amendment

ZANU PF Treasurer General Patrick Chinamasa has done a complete volte-face on the proposed constitutional amendments.

Having initially insisted that two separate referendums would be required, he now maintains that no referendum is necessary to amend the Constitution.

Speaking at a ZANU-PF conference in Bulawayo in 2024, Chinamasa had argued that the proposed changes would need to be approved by the people through two referendums.

However, following the gazetting of the Zimbabwe Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill (2026), Chinamasa has shifted his position, claiming that a referendum is not required.

On 24 February 2026, he posted on X (formerly Twitter) an extract from The Herald of 20 February, in which the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, addressed the issue.

Ziyambi explained that under the Constitution, terms of office run for five years and are coterminous with the life of Parliament, and that the bill simply extends the electoral cycle from five to seven years.

Chinamasa said Ziyambi’s clarification made it clear that no referendum would take place, stating unequivocally that “there will be no referendum.” He added:

“In framing Constitutional Amendment Number 3, Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and the Attorney General, Virginia Mabiza, with her battery of seasoned lawyers, have creatively chosen a legal solution/route that is the least costly and the most expeditious way to skin the cat.”

Chinamasa urged Zimbabweans to support the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3, saying it was in the nation’s best interests for peace, unity, stability, continuity, and the country’s economic and technological development. He said:

“As for the President and First Secretary of ZANU PF, His Excellency, Cde Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, I say to him, Your Excellency’s views on the ZANU PF Resolution Number 1 do not matter anymore. Vox Populi Vox Dei. The Voice of the People is the Voice of God.

“The people spoke and are still speaking and demanding Your Excellency to comply and serve the Nation up to 2030.

“I know it is not in Your Excellency’s nature to take a path that goes against the Will of the People.”

Chinamasa argued that frequent changes of government disrupt continuity, which in turn hampers economic development.

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