Ships Canceled, Smelter Hit As Mozambique Braces for More Post-Election Disruption

The Constitutional Council is set to validate the disputed vote by Dec. 23 and opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane has called for more demonstrations, depending on the outcome. The deadly unrest has already delayed 24 ships and caused six to cancel entry to the country’s biggest port in Maputo, terminal operator Grindrod Ltd. said in a statement Thursday.

South32 Ltd., which operates the region’s biggest aluminum smelter near the port, said it reduced electricity to its production facilities “to preserve raw materials and maintain operational stability.”

At least 130 people have died during the protests, according to a local monitoring group called Decide Platform who blames the police, as the country’s worst political violence in years slams the economy and unnerves investors.

Mozambique’s $900 million eurobond fell for a ninth straight day to less than 81 cents on the dollar — its worst losing streak since July 2022 — while Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s local unit has cut its 2024 growth forecast to 2.5% from 5.4% last year.

The protests have subsided this week following calls by Mondlane for a pause in demonstrations, after a tropical cyclone struck Mozambique’s north coast on Sunday. At least 73 people have died since the storm made landfall, state television said.

Still, the Constitutional Council’s ruling will determine whether “the country goes to peace or the country goes to disorder and chaos,” Mondlane, who fled the country to an unknown destination, warned in a livestream on Monday.

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