Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) Director-General Godfrey Itaye is allegedly planning to block phone and Internet connections during Tuesday's national election. The Nyasa Times reports that the authority will use the Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act to force mobile phone companies to shutdown social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and even phone calls. Itaye has denied the claims, saying ‘Macra has never done that and it is only security agencies that can do it using the cyber law that exists’. The report notes that authorities in the DRC shut down Internet connections following December’s poll. A report on the EWN site notes that President Peter Mutharika faces challenges from several candidates, including Deputy President Saulos Chilima, who last year quit the governing Democratic Progressive Party to form a new party, the United Transformation Movement.