By Chris Takudzwa Muronzi and Nelson Banya
HARARE, June 18 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's lower house of parliament passed a bill to extend presidential terms from five to seven years on Thursday, which would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in power until 2030.
Some 216 lawmakers voted in favour of the draft legislation, passing the 187 mark needed for a two-thirds majority.
The bill now moves to the upper house of parliament, where it is also expected to sail through as Mnangagwa's governing ZANU-PF party controls it through traditional leaders and other proxies who generally vote with the party.
Signs that Mnangagwa, 83, wanted to stay in power beyond the end of his second term in 2028 emerged about two years ago, when his supporters started chanting slogans at ZANU-PF rallies that he needed more time to complete his agenda.
The party last year resolved to change the constitution to lengthen presidential terms and the plan received cabinet backing in February.
Critics say the bill is a ruse for Mnangagwa to stay in power for longer, though its backers say it will strengthen accountability and foster political stability.
ZIMBABWE'S 'CROCODILE' PRESIDENT
Mnangagwa is nicknamed "the crocodile," an animal portrayed in Zimbabwean lore as stealthy and ruthless.
He came to power after a 2017 military coup ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who had been in power since independence in 1980.
Until they fell out in the months leading up to the coup, Mnangagwa was one of Mugabe's closest lieutenants, serving in top government positions including vice president.
Some activists and veterans of the country's liberation war launched court challenges against the plan to extend Mnangagwa's time as head of state, but they were struck off the court roll this week for technical reasons.
Other African countries whose leaders have changed the law to stay in power for longer include Cameroon and Uganda, entrenching a trend on the continent where some of the world's oldest leaders govern its youngest populations.
(Additional reporting and writing by Nilutpal Timsina and Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning and Timothy Heritage)
