An analysis of Social Media use in The SADC region - 2014 - 2020 Social Media use vis-à-vis electoral processes There is an increasing presence of reliance on social media within political campaigns and electoral processes across the region. Election candidates have relied on platforms like Twitter and Facebook to engage with the electorate and unpack their manifestos in a bid to solicit for votes. However, a Portland study176 found that the majority (53%) of the leading voices on Twitter around African elections, held over the years, came from outside the country in which the elections were contested. Despite the aforementioned, the following are examples from within the region of social media use during elections. Social Media and elections: Case of Zambia The defining era in Zambia’s current rise in online political and civic activism177 can be traced back to the period between 2011 and 2013178 . This is when the late President Sata embraced social media as part of his political and public diplomacy strategy. In the 2016 General Elections, government, its agencies, such as the Election Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the opposition and civil society were all immersed in social media.179 Social Media and elections: Case of Zimbabwe In Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is lobbying government to block social media in future elections and alleges these platforms were responsible for “releasing toxic information” during the 2018 elections and more specifically on disputed polls.180 According to the Zimbabwe Independent, a Zimbabwean local newspaper, “Social media has basically eroded the influence of legacy media which has worked in favour of ZANU PF since it controls the state media — ZimPapers and ZBC — with the only television in the country and an array of radio stations”181 It can therefore be noted that social media has provided campaigning platforms for opposition media who more often than not were sidelined by State owned or controlled media. 176 https://portland-communications.com/pdf/News-Release-How-Africa-Tweets-2018.pdf 177 Arthur Gwagwa et al. Moral Code in Cyberspace in Zambia. A Comparative Documentation of Internet-based information control systems, policies and practices in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Swaziland. Strathmore University. 2016 178 https://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=219 179 Arthur Gwagwa et al. Moral Code in Cyberspace in Zambia. A Comparative Documentation of Internet-based information control systems, policies and practices in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Swaziland. Strathmore University. 2016 180 Tauri Gavi, ZEC director for voter education, said, “We need serious regulation of social media by way of a law and ZEC is going to lobby parliamentarians to ensure such a piece of legislation is put in place ahead of the 2023 elections.” Gavi claimed the absence of a regulation to deal with social media resulted in meddling in the electoral process. “The social media literally spread poison by way of several misconceptions and lies during the election,” http://zimtechreview.co.zw/index-id-News-story-1121.html 181 https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2018/07/27/social-media-new-political-battlefield/ 32 https://zimbabwe.misa.org