Mauritius blocks social media until after the November 10 elections

Mauritius’ communications regulator on Friday ordered all internet service providers to suspend access to social media platforms until November 11, a day after the upcoming general elections. According to the opposition, this was a ruse to avoid election defeat.

The island nation has been hit by a wiretapping scandal in which around 20 conversations involving politicians, police, lawyers, journalists and members of civil society have been leaked onto social media since mid-October, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority said it is imposing a temporary ban on social media platforms in response to “illegal posts”.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the restriction was necessary to safeguard the country’s national security and integrity, following the publication of “certain” audio clips.

“A crisis committee is currently meeting to contain existing risks as quickly as possible,” Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth’s office said in a statement.

But the opposition said the ban was a political maneuver to avoid defeat in the November 10 elections, with Jugnauth seeking to expand his rule and maintain his Militant Socialist Movement party’s parliamentary majority.

“The outgoing government knows very well that it is heading for defeat. As such, it is using all means to stay in power,” said Navin Ramgoolam, leader of the Alliance for Change party and Jugnauth’s main challenger.

EMTEL, one of three telecom operators in the Indian Ocean country, said it was implementing the directive and warned that “the user experience will be gradually disrupted.”

Two civil society groups, the Internet Governance Forum and the Internet Society, warned in a joint statement that “restricting access to digital platforms would not only stifle democratic processes, but also harm the economy, disrupt businesses and reduce access to would limit essential information and services. ”

Jugnauth and police have previously claimed that the leaked calls were manipulated using artificial intelligence.

Jugnauth first became prime minister in 2017, when his father resigned.

Last year, a British court serving as the highest appeal court for Mauritius upheld Jugnauth’s 2019 election victory and dismissed an appeal by an opposition candidate who claimed it was obtained through bribery and undue influence.

Mauritius-based political analyst Jocelyn Chan Low told Reuters the wiretapping scandal would affect the outcome of the poll.

“There is a lot of public outrage over many alleged scandals that remain unresolved and have been the focus of these leaks,” he said.