(CNN) — Thursday (February 18) is election day in Uganda, but it’s not easy for voters to tweet about it or update their Facebook pages – the government has shut down social media, calling the move a “security measure.”
Voters are deciding whether to re-elect President Yoweri Museveni to a fifth term. He’s been president for the last 30 years.
Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and even Mobile Money transfers have been shut down across the country.
Museveni confirmed he ordered the ban.
“It was security measure to avert lies that are being circulated on those platforms intended to incite violence and illegal declaration of election results. So we had to shut down for safety,” he said after casting his vote at his home in western Uganda.
“So many lies have been circulated since the campaign period undermining the integrity of the electoral process.”
Advocacy groups criticized the move.
“The Ugandan government’s decision to block access to social media on mobile phones on election day is a blatant violation of Ugandans’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression and to seek and receive information,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director. “Without clearly defined security concerns, this closure is nothing but an exercise in censorship as Ugandans elect their leaders.”
Many Ugandans have been accessing the social media sites through VPN.
“I can’t even withdraw money because the network has gone,” said local comedian Edwin Mukalazi. “Whatever this is aimed at is very sad.”
Voters also complained about delays at the polls.
Throughout the election, social media has been used as a rallying and debate tool.
In January, Ugandans used the hashtag #1986pictures with tweets of 30-year-old pictures and remarks like “In 30 years, everything has changed in Uganda except the president.”
A similar shutdown occurred during Uganda’s 2011 general election.
Now 71, Museveni has been in power since 1986. In 2005, the constitution was changed to allow him to extend presidential term limits.
Around 15 million people are expected to vote in Thursday’s election.
CNN’s Samson Ntale and Robyn Kriel contributed to this report.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Uganda shuts down social media on election day.”
