Mozambique's ruling party, FRELIMO, under Daniel Chapo, has announced a sweeping victory in the aftermath of the nation's national election which was held on October 9th.

The landslide victory was initially announced by National Election Commission (CNE) Chairperson, Anglican Bishop Carlos Matsinhe, who claimed Chapo had garnered over 70% of the national vote.

The announcement came despite the CNE not releasing any polling station data, with the opposition PODEMOS party candidate Venâncio António Bila Mondlane claiming earlier that the election victory belonged to PODEMOS.

What You Need to Know

As a result, Mondlane's lawyer and top party aide, Elvino Dias, was preparing to legally challenge the election results after preliminary parallel vote counts conducted by the party allegedly revealed higher support for PODEMOS.

However, on the night of Friday 17th, Dias and Paulo Guambe, head of PODEMOS, were ambushed while inside a vehicle in the capital, Maputo, and shot dead. No suspects have been identified in the killing.

As such, protests have rocked Maputo, headed by Mondlane supporters. Avenues have been blocked, roadblocks set up, and tires burned. Police responded with force, firing tear gas and attempting to disperse the crowds. According to a medical source in the capital, 16 protesters have been injured thus far.

The clean sweep has raised eyebrows across the country, particularly as FRELIMO won not only the presidential election but also the legislative and provincial elections.

The only district not won by the party was the district of Beira, a longtime opposition stronghold, which has kept the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) party in power.

In other cities, abstentions were high, with 71 percent of Nampula abstaining from voting.

In response to the results, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who serves as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation, urged Mozambique to diligently investigate the killings of Dias and Guambe.

"The SADC calls upon the law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Mozambique to take all necessary measures to ensure an investigation is carried out. We also urge all stakeholders to exercise restraint while relevant authorities carry out investigations," President Hassan said.

The statement comes even as Hassan's Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has itself been accused of killing opposition party members. In early September, opposition Chadema party secretariat member Ali Mohamed Kibao was kidnapped from a bus in Dar es Salaam, tortured, and doused with acid.

Following the murder of Kibao was the mass arrest of Chadema party members at the end of September, with analysts noting the arrest's connection to the nation's upcoming presidential election.

So, What Now?

Murder as a political tool is not uncommon in the Southern African political environment, particularly in nations such as Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Angola.