Lizzy Oluwatoyin Ofusori
ABSTRACT
The KwaZulu Natal Civil Society Coalition (KZNCSOC) deployed 28 monitors and 850 observers throughout the province to ensure the elections are conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. This paper presents experiences from this electoral team that utilized WhatsApp as a tool for relaying information amongst themselves and the control centre in reporting incidences as they occurred in various parts of the province. The main findings emanating from this project were that monitors found it easier to communicate with another while in the field and could secure critical advice real time for effective decision making. It also enabled real time reporting of incidences relating to electoral violence to security agencies who in most cases responded immediately and quelled violence. The paper contends that election monitoring and its management can be made effective when communication tools such as WhatsApp are utilized. The paper concludes that such platforms should be institutionalized by electoral agencies as effective tools for electoral monitoring and management.
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