Gunmen kill two Mozambican opposition officials ahead of election protests | Politics News

Podemos party lawyer Elvino Dias and party representative Paulo Guambe were killed amid protests against the disputed vote.

Armed men in Mozambique killed the lawyer of a leading opposition politician and another opposition official before protests against a disputed election result, according to their party.

The attackers chased the car of Podemos party lawyer Elvino Dias and party representative Paulo Guambe and fatally shot them late on Friday evening in the capital Maputo, the party said on Saturday.

Videos on social media showed a BMW SUV in the middle of the road with numerous bullet holes in the body. Some of the videos appeared to show the bodies of two men, one with blood on his chest, in the front seats. The other body was slumped over.

The killings came at a time when tensions were already high in the southern African country as the country awaits the results of the Oct. 9 election, which has sparked further allegations of voter fraud and suppression of dissent against the 49-year-old rule by the Front for the Liberation Mozambique (Frelimo) party.

Podemos has rejected preliminary results showing a victory for Frelimo and called for a nationwide strike on Monday. Although Venancio Mondlane ran for president as an independent, he was supported by Podemos.

The murders are “further clear evidence of the lack of justice that we all face,” Podemos said.

“They were brutally murdered [in a] “It is a cold-blooded murder,” Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) in Mozambique, told Reuters by telephone.

“The clue [is] that about 10 to 15 bullets were fired and they died instantly.”

Human Rights Watch also issued a statement confirming the attack.

According to the latest election count, Frelimo is leading in all eleven provinces and its candidate Daniel Chapo is widely expected to win the election. Chapo is expected to be announced as the successor to President Filipe Nyusi, who has served a maximum of two terms.

Podemos and other opposition parties have accused Frelimo of electoral fraud. Western observers have also expressed doubts about the polls, citing reports of vote buying, intimidation and inflated voter lists in Frelimo strongholds.

Mozambique has struggled with these problems since Frelimo first introduced democracy in 1994 after two decades in power. Final election results are expected on October 24, but there are fears Monday’s protests could turn violent.

According to human rights organizations, Mozambique’s security forces have opened fire on political protesters in the past, including after local elections last year.

Nuvunga, the NGO director, wrote on social media that Dias’ killing was a “political assassination.”