Mozambique's ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo was declared the winner of the country's presidential election Thursday as the opposition claimed the vote was rigged and one party said it would challenge the result in court.

But as a lawyer for an opposition leader, in an election year, he felt it was his duty to speak out. “In a country as upside down as ours, truth and justice have their price,” he wrote, “and the biggest price is the death of the one who says it.

Daniel Chapo was declared winner of the presidential election less than a week after two opposition figures were gunned down.