Embattled Zimbabwean vice president Joice Mujuru has not turned up for a meeting of President Robert Mugabe's politburo, the national broadcaster reported Wednesday.
She faces rising pressure from opponents trying to oust her from her post.
Mugabe's politburo is his party's highest decision-making body. When the president has been away, Mujuru has chaired the meeting as his second-in-command.
The meeting is being held to finalise amendments to the Zanu-PF constitution that will give the 90-year-old president the power to handpick his deputies at a congress next week. One of them will succeed him if he stands down or dies in office.
"It is expected that centralising power on the president will help eliminate factionalism and consolidate unity in Zanu-PF," said the ZBC.
The report said Mujuru had "not availed herself" for the politburo meeting.
Mujuru has just lost her seat in Zanu-PF's central committee.
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