SACCORD Monitors Elections Using Social Media

By Susan Mwape

The Southern Africa Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes
(SACCORD) partnered with some regional organizations to use social
media platforms to monitor the 2011 Presidential, parliamentary and
Local Government elections. SACCORD, in partnership with Sodnet, Hivos
and OSISA, hosted a platform called Bantu Watch.

Bantu Watch was a platform created for citizens to report malpractices
and give stakeholders an opportunity to redirect issues to relevant
authorities. Reports from around the country were sent to the platform
and steps were then taken to ensure that the relevant authorities are
contacted and they in turn were able to intervene.

According to Obby Chibuluma, Information Officer at SACCORD, they
hosted the administrators of the Bantu Watch platform. The
administrator would get information from the citizens and SACCORD
would then work towards verifying and following up on the reports.
“Verification of the reports was a critical element because after the
administrators got the information posted on the platform SACCORD was
responsible for the verification of information through our different
sources countrywide”, Chibuluma said.

SACCORD then made follow-ups with the relevant authorities such as the
Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the Police and other key
stakeholders. Chibuluma pointed out that some of the reports that were
received on Election Day included missing election materials,
violence, delays in the commencement of voting among others. He said
once this kind of information was received SACCORD then contacted
relevant authorities and informed them of the challenges.

Chibuluma said the violence in Lilanda (Lusaka), was reported to Bantu
Watch and they immediately dispatched a team of local monitors and
international observers who went to physically check the situation at
Lilanda. They also informed police.

Key among the reports that were reported to the platform was the
detention of a vehicle carrying election material for Kanyama
Constituency at Bayuni School where citizens in the area detained it
on suspicion that it contained pre-marked ballot papers.

SACCORD then advised the police to move in and contacted political
activists from the area. After lengthy discussions the vehicle was
released although this led to the delay of the voting process in some
polling stations in Kanyama.

“We realize that the social media is a growing platform. Through Bantu
Watch people shared information and relevant authorities were
contacted and they intervened. Issues such as vote buying and other
dynamics related to the electoral process enabled us to have a whole
picture of what was happening in the country. Bantu Watch helped in
getting quick resolutions to election related shortcomings. Citizens
countrywide sent their reports on a short code by phone text message
and the reports appeared on an online platform which can be accessed
on www.bantuwatch.org“, Chibuluma added.

SACCORD hopes that the platform can continue to be used. “The election
was only one part of it. Many promises were made by the new government
and we hope citizens can continue to utilize the platform to track the
promises of the politicians,” he reflected.

Bantu Watch was on election day inaccessible after some unknown people
tempered with the system but with the help of ICT experts the glitch
was overcome and the system was un blocked and the citizen’s reports
begun to flow normally once more.

The platform was run by 20 administrators and three technical experts
from Kenya who processed and verified the information received on the
platform. This platform will continue to run until December 2011 and
the hope is that it will be supported beyond the deadline.

About these ads