Event Summary
Access to mobile phone networks and the internet was suddenly interrupted across the entire country on Sunday, March 15, 2026, by Congolese authorities, on the same day of the first round of the presidential election. Communications were cut early on the morning of the vote and partially restored once the provisional results had been announced.
This total suspension of communications sparked concern among the public, depriving the election of transparency, the citizens’ right to access information, and the ability to bear witness to the truth. The authorities did not explain the reasons for this outage and merely stated that the election had taken place under good conditions. However, this outage during the elections constitutes a violation of the fundamental rights and digital freedoms guaranteed by Congolese law.
This unjustified measure further exacerbates the situation regarding fundamental rights during the pre-election period, during which public gatherings were monitored and human rights activists were arrested. In January, the director general of presidential security made statements suggesting that military force would be used against any protesters during the elections.