[3][4] While counting on the election was underway on 11 October, Venâncio Mondlane threatened to launch a nationwide strike if FRELIMO declared victory.
[6] The EU observers later said that there had been "irregularities during counting and unjustified alteration of election results at polling station and district level".
Mondlane is also publishing results from his parallel vote count which the attorney general classified as "behavior that violates ethical and electoral principles and norms.
Agualusa also called on the ruling government to hold Mondlane "accountable for those statements" and that his strong performance, even though he did not win, was “the great revolution” of the current age and as such he needs to be more responsible.
[13] On 18 October, Elvino Dias, a lawyer working for PODEMOS and one of Mondlane's advisors, was shot dead in his car along with the party's spokesperson, Paulo Guambe, by unidentified attackers in Maputo.
Mondlane accused the security forces of responsibility, while the EU, the African Union, the United States and Portugal condemned the killings.
[7] On 21 October, police fired tear gas at Mondlane while he was giving out interviews at the site of Dias and Guambe's murders.
[15][16][9] On 23 October the European Union observers released a statement that the government performed "unjustified alteration" and that the results of the election had been doctored in FRELIMO's favor while the U.S State Department demanded an investigation and rejected political violence.
"[20] On 25 October riots broke out across the country after the government announced that Chapo won and closed the border crossing with South Africa at Ressano Garcia.
"[21] During these riots, Mozambican security forces killed at least 11 protesters and used live ammunition and tear gas to clear crowds which was met with heavy criticism from Human Rights Watch.
[23][24] On 28 October Mondlane called for the formation of a rival "Government of National Unity" consisting of all opposition parties to form a united front against FRELIMO.
[27] On 29 October Mondlane called for a week-long strike, and for a 4-million strong march on Maputo on 7 November to overwhelm Mozambican authorities with the sheer size of a protest.
On 5 November, defence minister Cristóvão Artur Chume called the protests an attempt to overthrow the government and deployed the army to restore order.
The South African government closed the Lebombo border crossing with Mozambique following violent protests and barricades on the Mozambican side.
[37] Also on 6 November, the Constitutional Council gave the CNE 72 hours to explain discrepancies in the number of voters in the election, with there being ~170,000 "fake votes" for FRELIMO.
[38] Additionally, the Mozambican Bar Association released a statement that annulling the elections is “one of the equations that should be on the table” in the dialogue to stop the violence.
[50] Human Rights Watch reported that at least 10 of the dead where children, and that the deteriorating security condition was preventing thousands of students from going to school.
Journalist Dominic Johnson argued that Mozambique's situation remained critical and that the violence had the potential to escalate into a civil war.
[57] On 29 December, Mondlane announced a five-day suspension of protests to allow for humanitarian and international organizations to visit Mozambique and assess the human rights situation.