Analysis ·
Election shutdown watch: where the internet could be cut next
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Updated 5 November, 01:00 UTC
- First version.
Governments often cut the internet around elections: at least 313 shutdowns happened in 52 countries in 2025, according to the #KeepItOn coalition. This page lists the next votes and shows the live state of each country's internet, measured every 5 minutes. A listing here is not a prediction. It tells you where to look, and if something happens on election day, you can follow it here live.
Next elections
15 November 2026
Cabo Verde: Presidential election, possible runoff on 29 November.
Normal right now · 10 of 10 monitored hosts reachable
5 December 2026
The Gambia: Presidential election. The government cut the internet on the eve of the 2016 vote. In May 2026, 13 civil society groups asked it not to happen again.
Normal right now · 20 of 20 monitored hosts reachable
6 December 2026
Guinea-Bissau: General election, meant to restore civilian rule after the 2025 coup.
Normal right now · 5 of 5 monitored hosts reachable
22 December 2026
South Sudan: General election, its first. Analysts doubt the date will hold. On the #KeepItOn coalition's 2026 watchlist.
Normal right now · 18 of 20 monitored hosts reachable
27 January 2027
Kyrgyzstan: Presidential election.
Normal right now · 29 of 30 monitored hosts reachable
This year so far
- 15 January, Uganda The regulator ordered operators to suspend public internet access before the vote. Connectivity was partly restored on 18 January, after a five-day blackout.
- 15 March, Republic of the Congo A two-day shutdown began on the morning of the vote.
- 13 August, Zambia Rights groups had warned of a shutdown, but the #KeepItOn coalition received no reports of blackouts.
How to read this page
Each country's status comes from hosts we check from our own servers, and it can be a different story from what one network or one phone shows. A cut can also be partial: blocking social media or mobile data leaves the hosts we measure reachable. Open a country for its regions, history and incident list.
Election dates can change, and we update this page when they do.
Sources
- Access Now: 2026 elections and internet shutdowns watch
- #KeepItOn: Rising and resisting in the darkness, internet shutdowns in 2025
- The Point: 2026 presidential election set for 5 December
- Paradigm Initiative: 13 groups caution against shutdowns in The Gambia
- Quartz: The Gambia's 2016 shutdown
- ACI Africa: South Sudan sets its election date
- Control Risks: geopolitical calendar
- Wikipedia: list of elections in 2027
- Internet Society Pulse: Congo and Uganda
Blackout Map is a live map of internet outages and shutdowns around the world. Open the map · Security watch · RSS · Follow us on X: @Blackoutmap_net





















