- Post-election protests in Mozambique paralysed two power plants on Saturday, the national utility, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), said as unrest rocks the southern Africa nation.
- The ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, was declared winner of the October 9 polls but the results were denounced as fraudulent by the opposition.
- The interruption took place after a group of protesters went to the infrastructure, demanding a total halt to production.
- Yesterday electricity production was restored at the Ressano Garcia and Gigawatt thermoelectric plants, which affected the southern region of Mozambique.
“After awareness-raising work on the ground and consensus with the protesters, power production was restored at these plants, as well as the normal supply of energy to all customers in the southern region of the country,” EDM said in a statement.
“As part of protests taking place throughout the country, a group of demonstrators went to the Ressano Garcia and Gigawatt thermoelectric plants, demanding a total shutdown of energy production,” added EDM.
“Fearing unforeseeable repercussions,” the firm said the plants near the border with South Africa were “forced to halt energy production,” as protests ramped up following the disputed election.
EDM added that it continues to monitor the situation closely and calls on the general public to cooperate and support it in order to guarantee the protection of the electricity generation and supply infrastructures.
Mozambique’s Constitutional Council is due to confirm the election results at least two weeks ahead of the January inauguration ceremony. Supporters of opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, who came in second behind Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, have taken to the streets after Mondlane contested the official count.
The electoral commission maintains Chapo — seeking to succeed party colleague Filipe Nyusi, received nearly 71 percent of the vote, to 20 for Mondlane, leader of the small Podemos party. But Mondlane contends a separate count found he received 53 percent of the vote, with Chapo only taking 36 percent.
International observers say the election was marked by several irregularities. At least 90 people have been killed in the southern African nation since October 21.
Bloomberg reports that in neighbouring Zambia, 300MW of power imports from Mozambique have been halted after state-owned utility Zesco Ltd. received notification of an “indefinite unavailability of power exports” related to the shutdowns.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
