Democracy is going digital Crowdsourced monitoring of election integrity in East Africa

Abstract

Social media networks, mobile phone technology and open-source software offer an opportunity for crowdsourcing election monitoring. This article seeks to map crowdsourced election monitoring in East Africa. The availability and use of social networks, digital adoption and perceptions of electoral integrity, as well as crowdsourced generated data and the use of social media to expose election fraud in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are explored. Secondary data analysis shows the three countries not only have the highest mobile technology adoption, but also that available technologies are used to crowdsource monitoring and expose electoral fraud. Challenges relating to partnerships, trust, crowd volunteers, funding and internet disruption are reported. Technology is expected to strengthen crowdsourcing and complement the traditional monitoring approach to promote election integrity.