A letter, seen by AFP and Reuters, was sent to all telecoms
firms by the communications regulator ordering the immediate shutdown.
It comes a day after Facebook closed "fake"
accounts it said were linked to the government, saying they were being used to
boost the popularity of posts. The run-up to the election has been marred by
tension and violence.
President Yoweri Museveni is seeking his sixth elected term
in office after 35 years in power.
The 76-year-old faces 10 challengers, most notably
38-year-old pop star turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi, known by his stage
name Bobi Wine.
The BBC's Patience Atuhaire in the Ugandan capital,
Kampala, says the campaign period has been dominated by social media, as
political parties have tried to reach the young, politically aware population.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has not
responded to media requests to confirm the shutdown order, but internet
monitoring group NetBlocks says it has noted restrictions on all major internet
providers in the East African nation.
BBC correspondent confirms widespread reports of disruption
on platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat, when using the
country's data servers.
The AFP and Reuters news agencies quote industry sources as
saying that telecoms executives were told the ban was in retaliation for
Facebook blocking pro-government accounts.
On Monday, the government described Facebook's action as
high-handed and said Thursday's elections would be free and fair.
One insider told AFP that internet service providers were
also given a list by the UCC of 100 virtual private networks (VPNs) to block.
During the 2016 election, the government blocked social
media on polling day and for several days after, which led to the proliferation
of VPN use in the country, our reporter says. BBC
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