Zambia’s Internet Cut Off Amidst Tight Election Counting

Zambia’s main opposition presidential candidate has called on the for the internet to be restored after it was cut during Thursday’s tightly contested elections.

“We call on Zicta [the communications authority] to immediately unblock the internet so citizens can follow the electoral process and continue with their lives unhindered,” Hakainde Hichilema said in a tweet.

The BBC team in Zambia says WhatsApp is still down and Twitter and Facebook intermittently so.

People have been using virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow users to circumvent local restrictions.

Election day passed off largely peacefully, but President Edgar Lungu, who is seeking a second term, said some violence was reported in the North-Western province, a stronghold of Mr Hichilema, where two people including a ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party chairman were killed.

“I’m also appalled by the amount of mayhem witnessed in North-Western, some parts of Western, and Southern provinces. Clearly, the elections in these places have not been free and fair,” he tweeted.

He said he had ordered that troops be reinforced in these three provinces.

BBC