AFRICA/MOZAMBIQUE - Ongoing protests against election results have significant impacts on the economy

Maputo (Agenzia Fides) - Protests continue in Mozambique against the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections of October 9, won by FRELIMO (Mozambican Liberation Front, which has ruled continuously since the country's independence in 1975).
Since the demonstrations began on October 21, at least a hundred people have been killed in clashes with security forces, according to the civil society election monitoring platform "Plataforma Decide".
Venancio Mondlane, the candidate of the opposition party PODEMOS, who came second in the presidential elections behind Daniel Chapo, the FRELIMO candidate, called for the demonstrations to continue "for at least another two or three months".
Last week, protesters managed to disrupt the operation of two power plants in the south of the country, which supply 30% of the region's electricity. The demonstration took place after Mondlane, who is in exile in an unknown location, claimed on social media that he had been the target of an assassination attempt for the second time after the one in South Africa (see Fides, 5/11/2024).
The ongoing protests are having a significant impact on the country's economy. South Africa has once again suspended operations at its main border crossing with Mozambique in Lebombo, which is an important hub for the export of coal and chromium, with a significant impact also on the South African economy.
The economic situation is so tense that the Mozambican Business Association has asked outgoing President Filipe Nyusi to enter into negotiations with Venancio Mondlane to find a way out of the crisis.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule on December 23 on the lawsuits filed by the opposition parties against the October 9 elections.
The new president is expected to be sworn in by January 15, while Mondlane will claim the office for himself. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 11/12/2024)

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