An Election is a process where people vote for preferred candidates or political parties as representatives in government.

General Elections are elections conducted in electoral constituencies across the country to elect political parties and candidates into executive and legislative positions.

It is an election to replace a Member of the Legislature occasioned by death, resignation, recall or taking up another public office or position.

It is an election conducted when the first election fails to produce a clear winner to be returned for the position of President or Governor. This can happen when the candidate with the highest votes does not have the required vote spread in the State/Federation, i.e. he/she has not scored at least 25% of the valid votes cast in at least 2/3 (two-third) of the LGA of the state (for Governor) or at least 25% of the valid votes cast in at least 2/3 (two-third) of the States of the federation in the case of the President.

An election where the first election was annulled for sundry reason(s) by a competent Electoral Tribunal or Court of Law.

It is an election where the total number of registered voters in a particular constituency is sufficient to cause a change in the outcome due to the postponement of election or cancellation of result(s). It may also arise when no candidate meets the criteria for election or threshold to be returned as winner after the initial ballot.

A Polling Unit is a public place, enclosure, booth or shade recognised by INEC where registered voters cast their votes on Election Day.

The Presiding Officer (PO). He/she oversees a polling unit and conducts election there. He/she is supported by other election officials.

He/she is responsible for the supervision of elections in a cluster of polling units/stations and liaises between the Electoral Officer and a number of Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) under his/her supervision in all matters affecting the election, especially in the distribution, collection and retrieval of election materials.

Usually, three APOs work in each polling unit on Election Day i.e. APO I, APO II and APO lll.

APOs work under the supervision of the Presiding Officer. They assist him/her in the conduct of elections in the polling unit posted to.

No. Polling Units cannot be located in private residences or worship places. Rather, Polling Units are located at public places, though it may be in front of such buildings – outside the premises.

A party agent is that person representing a political party or candidate at the polling unit, distribution point or collation centre on Election Day and who is so accredited by INEC for that purpose.

Yes. Election officials shall allow each party to be represented by one agent at a time in polling units and collation centres provided they are accredited by the Commission. To be accredited, the party must submit the names of the agents not later than seven (14) days before the election to INEC.

Only one accredited party agent per political party is allowed at a polling unit on Election Day.

Their responsibilities are:

(i) To represent the interest of their Parties and Candidates to ensure that proper procedure, laws and regulations are complied with;
(ii) To observe the process of collection and distribution of election materials;
(iii) To observe the polling and counting of ballots as well as the collation and declaration of results on behalf of their parties;
(iv) To call the attention of the poll officials to any irregularity;
(v) To sign the result sheet if they so desire;
(vi) To testify in Courts/Tribunals in case of election petitions or litigations.

Yes. A party agent present at a polling unit may demand to have the votes recounted, but only once.

The agent/voter shall call the attention of the officials to any irregularities without interfering with the process and report to his/her party.

The stakeholders in an election are:
All persons, groups or agencies who have interest or stake in the process and include:
I. Voters;
II. INEC Officials (Permanent and Ad Hoc Staff) on election duty;
III. Security Agents;
IV. Political parties, their candidates and accredited party agents;
V. The media;
VI. Domestic and International Observers;
VII. Security Agencies;
VIII. Relevant MDAs (National Human Rights Commission, National Orientation Agency, etc);
IX. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs);
X. Traditional Rulers;
XI. Religious Leaders;
XII. Women Group;
XIII. Development Partners;
XIV. International/Regional Groups (AU, UN, ECOWAS);
XV. International Community;
XVI. Ordinary Citizens;
XVII. Nigerians abroad

No. No voter shall vote for more than one candidate or record more than one vote in favour of any candidate at any election.

Election Observers are persons appointed by their respective organizations and accredited by INEC to observe the entire election process (distribution of election materials, accreditation process, voting, sorting and counting of ballots, collation of results and declaration of results) or any part thereof. There are two types of election observers i.e. Domestic and International Observers.

Election monitors are officials of INEC deployed by the Commission to oversee the conduct of elections.

No. Observers are not permitted to interfere with the conduct of elections.

They are only permitted to observe the process and to call the attention of officials to any irregularity without interfering with the process.

No. Election observers are not allowed to wear the badge or symbol of any    political party. Observers shall comply with lawful directives issued by, or under the authority of INEC or its officials, including a directive to leave the Polling Unit or the Collation Centre if required to do so.

Yes, provided he/she is appointed by an organization and accredited by the Commission.

Yes. Election monitors are staff of the Commission and can interfere with the process of the conduct of elections, when it is noticed that poll officials are not adhering to the approved procedures.

Yes, but only accredited Journalists are permitted into the Polling Units on Election Day on the condition that they do not disrupt polling. They have important role in reporting on the conduct of elections.

Yes. Persons living with any form of disability are usually given preference at the polling unit on Election Day.

It is a plastic device that can be fixed on a ballot paper to enable the visually impaired mark their ballot paper unaided.

Accreditation, Voting, Sorting of ballots, Counting, Announcing the votes scored by each party, Collation and Declaration of result.

This is as announced by INEC before the election. It usually starts by 8.00 am and closes at 2.00pm. However, voters on the queue on or before 2.00pm shall be accredited to vote.

(i) To check unauthorized and multiple voting;
(ii) To stop impersonation as only the owners of voter’s card can vote;
(iii) To ascertain if the voter has previously voted in the election;
(iv) To ensure that only those who are registered in that unit actually vote there.

• The voters queue up in an orderly manner;
• The Poll Officials use the Smart Card Reader to read (verify and authenticate) the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) presented by a voter seeking to be accredited to confirm that his/her name is in the register of voters in that unit and that he/she is the rightful owner of the card;
• The officials then cross check the name in the register and tick on the left side of the register after the confirmation;
• Indelible ink is applied on the appropriate finger of the voter’s left hand;
• If the voter’s fingerprint is not authenticated, the voter may still be accredited if the Presiding Officer is satisfied that his/her name is in the register and that he/she is the rightful owner of the card.

Yes. Where culture does not allow men and women to mix up in a queue, separate queues are formed for men and women.

No. Accreditation or Voting by proxy is not allowed. You must be physically present at the polling unit before you can be accredited or vote.

In order to cast your vote, you are advised to stay within the polling unit before voting starts. If you decide to leave, ensure you return to the polling unit before the commencement of voting at 1.30pm. Once voters queue up and the number is recorded, no voter, accredited or not, will be allowed to join the queue.

Yes. The poll officials will apply indelible ink at the appropriate finger of your left hand for accreditation.

It stores the voters’ information such as physical attributes, thumb prints etc; it protects information stored in the card. The information on the voter’s card is electronically programmed and can only be read/accessed electronically with the card reader.

Each person wishing to vote must:

(i)        Have been registered at the polling unit where he/she intends to cast his/her vote;

(ii)       Have his/her Permanent Voter’s Card;

(iii)      Present himself/herself to the Presiding Officer at the polling unit;

(iv)      The person’s name must be in register of voters of that polling unit.

Appear in person at the unit where you registered at the stipulated time – presently between 8.00am and 2.00pm with your permanent voter’s card;
a. Accreditation/voting commences at 8.00am. Voters are expected to queue up in an orderly manner;
b. Card reader is used to verify PVC presented by a voter and authenticate voter’s fingerprints.
c. The voter is issued with ballot paper(s) and directed to a cubicle to make his/her choice by thumb/finger printing against their preferred party/candidate on the ballot paper in secret, and thereafter, roll the ballot paper inwardly with the printed side inwards and flatten before dropping it into the ballot box in the full view of all present;
d. Where the voter’s PVC is read but his/her fingerprint is not authenticated, he/she is requested to thumbprint the appropriate box in the Register of Voter and write his/her phone number in the rectangular space provided in the register. He/she is allowed to continue with the accreditation/voting process.
e. Accreditation and voting close at 2.00 pm. A Security Personnel is required to stand behind the last person on the queue to prevent any other person joining. However, everyone on the queue as at 2.00 pm shall be attended to.
f. When the last voter on the queue has voted, the ballots are sorted, counted and the votes scored by each contesting party/candidate as well as the rejected/spoilt ballots are announced and filled into the result sheet;
g. The result is also entered into form EC 60E and pasted at the polling unit;
h. The results from the Polling Units are taken to the Registration Area for summation.

The indelible ink is applied on the corresponding toe of the person brought from home by the voter to assist him or her.

Yes. A voter who is blind or unable to distinguish symbols is entitled to be accompanied into the polling unit and assisted to vote by a person chosen by him/her.

It is a system in which the voter thumbprint/fingerprints or makes his/her choice on the ballot paper in secret and drops it in the ballot box (casts his vote) in the full view of all present.

A rejected ballot is a ballot where the choice of the voter is not clear e.g. if the thumbprint is between two parties’ symbols, is not in a box near any party or the ballot paper is not thumb printed at all. Such ballot will be rejected and not counted for any party or candidate.

Yes. The Presiding Officer must do so before issuance. Failure by a Presiding Officer to stamp, sign and date the back of any ballot paper renders it invalid. Anyone not so stamped, signed and dated will not be counted as valid.

No. Where a voter makes any writing or mark on a ballot paper by which he may be identified, such ballot shall be rejected.

No. Once the voters on the queue have been counted and recorded, he/she will not be allowed to join the queue to vote.

Yes. Poll officials can commence the election process even when no party agents are present in the polling unit.

Yes. But he/she must be orderly and well behaved; otherwise he/she could be ejected by security agents. The law prohibits loitering and other disruptive activities within three hundred (300) meters radius of the polling unit.

Yes. It is known as form EC8A. All results from polling units must be entered in this form issued by the Commission.

No. Refusal of any party agent to countersign form EC 8A will not invalidate the result of the poll.

The result of an election is declared by an election official known as the Returning Officer (RO) after collating all the results of the Constituency or Senatorial District.

No, only the Returning Officer appointed by INEC is permitted by law to declare the result of an election; though anyone can publish this result as announced.

Return means the declaration by a returning officer of a candidate in an election under the Electoral Act as being the winner of that election.

No. Once results have been announced and return made by the Returning Officer, nobody, not even the Commission can overturn this. Any aggrieved party or candidate can only challenge this in an election tribunal.

(a) A person whose election is questioned was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election;
(b)That the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act;
(c) That the respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election; or
(d)That the petitioner or its candidate was validly nominated but was unlawfully excluded from the election.