Election officials count votes for the Mozambique general elections at a polling station in Maputo, Mozambique, 09 October 2024. More than 17.1 million Mozambican voters will choose the President of the Republic, provincial assemblies and their governors, and 250 members of the Assembly of the Republic. The National Elections Commission (CNE) approved lists of 35 political parties running for the Assembly of the Republic and 14 political parties and groups of citizen voters for provincial assemblies. (Photo: EPA-EFE / JOSE COELHO) 
Carlos Matsinhe, president of the National Electoral Commission, read the results Thursday in Maputo, the capital.
The ruling Mozambican Liberation Front picked Chapo, 47, who studied law and is the former governor of the central Inhambane province but has never served in the national government, as its surprise candidate in May.
His victory signals political continuity for Mozambique as TotalEnergies SE prepares to resume a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project that insurgent attacks forced it to halt in early 2021, although allegations of vote-rigging and Mondlane’s rejection of the preliminary results raise the risk of civil unrest.
Tensions surged after unidentified gunmen killed the opposition leader’s legal adviser and another of its officials at the weekend. On Wednesday, Mondlane revealed that he’d left his home after receiving intelligence that he was an assassination target and was at an undisclosed location in Maputo. He didn’t provide evidence.
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Earlier this week, the opposition leader said there was a “revolutionary atmosphere” in Mozambique and urged supporters to demonstrate peacefully in the streets. The police warned citizens against in participating illegal protests.
Mozambique’s $900 million dollar bonds due 2031 were headed for their biggest losses since May, dropping as much as 1.3% to 84.01 cents on the dollar, making them the worst performers in emerging markets.
European Union observers and others who monitored the vote have flagged irregularities, including indications of ballot-box stuffing and the “unjustified alteration” of results. They complained that staff were blocked from observing the tallying in some areas, as well as at national level.
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A national group of Catholic bishops said there was “grand fraud” and that the lowest voter turnout in Mozambique’s history indicated people had lost faith in the electoral process. The electoral commission has said aggrieved parties should approach the courts and present evidence of irregularities.
The southeast African nation, where the median age is about 17, is one of the world’s least-developed. Almost three-quarters of its 35 million people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank. One in three young people aren’t working or studying, government data shows.