20 African Countries Restricted Internet Access During Elections—Report

By Adedapo Adesanya

A new insight has shown that 20 out of 54 African countries have restricted internet access amid elections since 2015.

According to Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker, over the last eight years, 30 countries and territories in the world have restricted the internet amid elections, affecting 2.3 billion people globally.

It found that out of these countries, 20 of them were on the African continent, including the most recent in Zimbabwe and Gabon; both countries held elections in August and restricted internet access.

The survey found that out of the 20 countries that have restricted internet during elections since 2015, 18 are autocratic. These include Sierra Leone, Guinea, Uganda, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Chad, and Tanzania, among others.

However, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Morocco, and a host of others do not fall into this category as they have never shut down the Internet during their elections.

Surfshark noted that the trend of internet shutdown during democratic practices seems to occur regularly and added that it foresees a high possibility with four African countries (Eswatini, Mali, Liberia, and Mozambique) set to hold elections in the coming months.

Eswatini will hold elections on September 29. There have been no cases of internet restrictions during elections in Eswatini, but the country disrupted access to the internet and social media twice in 2021 in response to pro-democracy protests.

Three other African countries will hold elections in October: Mali, Liberia, and Mozambique. Mali restricted the internet in 2018 due to elections, and the firm noted that the risk of a restriction is high.

Liberia imposed a disruption during protests in 2019, but Mozambique has no registered internet restrictions.

According to the firm, the possibility of a restriction during the upcoming elections should not be dismissed, looking at recent trends.

Speaking on this, Mrs Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, Surfshark spokeswoman, said, “The internet is an integral component of democratic elections. When it’s restricted, people can no longer freely read the news or share opinions with their fellow citizens online.

“With our Internet Shutdown Tracker, we seek to spread the word on these devastating disruptions and build international pressure on governments to stop taking such measures.”