JAKARTA – Social media and messaging apps including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter were blocked in Zambia on Thursday as elections were held in the East African country.
Quoted from The Verge, Friday, August 13, digital rights organization Access Now and internet monitor NetBlocks said this was done to stop the spread of misinformation about the election.
The blockade, which affects state-owned internet providers and other private networks, could cut voters off from vital forms of communication in controversial elections.
“We have looked at this and can confirm that there appears to be a social media shutdown affecting our apps and others, such as Twitter,” a Facebook spokesperson told CNN International.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu is known to be seeking his vote again, with businessman Hakainde Hichilema as the main challenger. Lungu complained about the chaos in the three provinces which made the elections in the region unfree and unfair.
“How can you talk about free and fair elections when our opponents see these elections as a war?” Lungu said.
In addition, Lungu also accused the opposition of being the cause of this brutal incident and of wanting to rule Zambia by force. However, Lungu had ordered the army to strengthen the presence of its troops in the western, northwestern and southern provinces.
The Zambian Election Commission also reported “unprecedented” levels of participation in presidential and parliamentary elections, with long queues remaining at many polling stations at 6 p.m. local time as voting was due. terminate.
However, votes can still be cast to anyone still online. Usually, information promoting voter safety will be disseminated on social media and messaging apps, ranging from wait times for polls to examples of potential voter fraud, but now people wanting to know the electoral information and who want to communicate should switch to using a VPN.
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