By Violet Mashonga
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has clarified that the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 seeks to extend election cycles from five to seven years, without altering presidential term limits.
Speaking at a media briefing, Minister Ziyambi emphasized that the Bill is about changing the length of a single term, not the number of terms a President can serve.
“The Bill elongates the electoral cycle from five to seven years. That’s all it’s doing,” he explained.
The government argues that a referendum is not required, as the Bill doesn’t touch Section 91(2), which disqualifies a person from being President after two terms.
If passed, voters will go to the polls less often, with elections now scheduled every seven years instead of five.
Minister Ziyambi stressed that the two-term limit remains the law, and once a President has served two terms, they are barred from running again.
The Bill is set to be debated in Parliament, with the government pushing for its adoption without a referendum.
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