Zimbabwe's government introduced a bill to parliament on Tuesday that ​would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term by two years to ‌2030, despite criticism from a fractured opposition and some veterans of the country's liberation war.

The draft legislation will be debated on Wednesday at a second reading in ​parliament.

Mnangagwa, 83, is expected to step down in 2028 after serving two five-year terms as head of state, but his supporters want to amend the constitution to extend presidential terms from five years to seven.

They also want presidents to be elected by parliament rather than ​by direct popular vote.

Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi introduced the bill in the lower house of parliament.

Political analysts expect it to sail through as Mnangagwa's ZANU-PF party has ​a two-thirds majority in the lower house and also overwhelmingly controls ​the upper house through traditional leaders and other proxies who generally vote with it, ‌giving ⁠it the numbers to change the constitution.

Ziyambi has said previously that he expects the legislative process will take about a month.

ZANU-PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, first under longtime leader Robert Mugabe ​and then Mnangagwa, ​who took over ⁠after a 2017 coup.

On Tuesday a group of retired generals and former civil servants publicly voiced their ​opposition to the bill that would extend Mnangagwa's time ​in power.

They ⁠said they had met with Mnangagwa last month to voice their concerns but he told them "whoever wins, wins", referring to whether the bill would ⁠pass.

Some war ​veterans and activists also challenged the bill in ​the Constitutional Court, which reserved judgment while it considers their arguments.