INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) GUIDELINES FOR THE GENERAL ELECTIONS APRIL 2011
PRESIDING OFFICER
1. The Presiding Officer is in charge of the Polling Unit.
2. You are to sign for all electoral materials collected on Form EC.25B – Electoral Materials Receipt Form.
3. You are to ensure that the electoral materials issued to your polling unit are of the right type and quantity. This you will do by going through the materials one by one.
4. The Voters' Register given to you should be inspected page by page to ensure that all the pages are signed and stamped with the INEC stamp and that no page is missing.
5. You shall be assisted by two poll assistants in the discharge of your responsibilities.
6. Accreditation will be from 8am – 12 noon.
7. As voters arrive at the Polling Unit for accreditation, you shall check their voter's card against their names in the voter's register. Please note that voters' waiting in the queue at 12 noon shall be accredited; but any voter coming after 12 noon shall not be accredited. A temporary voter's card only shall be acceptable for accreditation and voting.
8. Voting starts at 12:30pm and ends when the last person on the queue votes.
9. Once a voter is accredited, the index finger of his/her left hand will be marked with an indelible ink.
10. You shall next enter in Form EC 8A – Statement of Result form in figures and words,
A. The number of voters on the Register;
And
B. The number of accredited voters.
11. After the accreditation period, you shall introduce the Poll Assistants, security agents and accredited Party Agents.
12. Explain the voting procedure to the voters as well as all activities that constitute electoral offences and the penalties for committing such offences as listed in the Electoral Act 2010.
13. Next invite all accredited voters to queue up in front of you in one single line. Where culture does not allow men and women to mingle in a queue, you shall allow separate queues for men and women.
14. Next count the number of all accredited voters on the queue and announce loudly to the hearing of all present the number of accredited voters in the queue.
15. Enter in Form EC 8A, the number of accredited voters waiting in the queue to vote in figures and words. Sign the form in the appropriate section and invite the polling agents to sign.
16. Then display the transparent ballot box to everyone present before voting commences.
17. Invite the voters to move one at a time to the Presiding Officer's table, and issue him/her with a stamped, signed and dated ballot paper.
18. Next ask the voter to move to the voting cubicle to thumb- print in the space opposite the symbol of the party of his/her choice and to drop the ballot paper in the ballot box in the full view of all present.
COUNTING OF VOTES
1. Empty the contents of the ballot box on the table.
2. Sort out the ballot papers according to party symbols.
3. Using the alphabetical order of name of the political parties, count loudly the number of votes scored by each candidate.
4. Then enter in Form EC 8A the number of votes scored by each candidate in the space provided in both figures and words.
5. Verify the poll result by cross checking;
A. The number of persons registered to vote at the center;
B. The number of accredited voters in the queue before voting commences; and
C. The total number of votes scored by the candidates.
6. Nullify the result where the total number of votes cast for the candidates exceeds the total number of people accredited to vote at the polling unit, after thorough verification.
7. Where the result is nullified, endorse Form EC 8A for the polling unit as follows: "Result Cancelled".
8. Immediately announce the nullification of the result to those present.
9. Next sign Form EC 8A and invite one Party Agent from each of the political parties to sign the Statement of Result Form.
10. Then give a copy of the duly completed and signed Form EC 8A to:
A. Each Party Agent,
B. The security agents.
11. Post a copy of the result at the Polling Unit.
12. Proceed immediately with the original copy and deliver to the Collation Officer at the Registration Area Center accompanied by security agents and Party Agents.
13. Return all the election materials used during the election to the Electoral Officer (EO) through the Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO) for preservation.
COLLATION OFFICER
1. You shall be responsible for the collation of results either at:
A. Registration Area Center (RAC)
B. Local Government Area level
C. State Level.
REGISTRATION AREA LEVEL
1. The Registration Area Collation Officer is in charge of the Collation Centre.
2. You shall work in liaison with the security agents to see to the maintenance of law and order at the Collation Center.
3. You shall use Form EC 8B to collate votes entered in Form EC 8A submitted to you by the Presiding Officers, Polling Unit by Polling Unit to get the Registration Area level results by the candidates.
4. Where there has been a cancellation in a polling unit by a presiding officer or where elections did not hold in a polling unit, the fact of that cancellation or non-holding of the election shall be entered in Form EC40G.
5. You shall then call out loudly the total votes scored by candidates in the Registration Area Center.
6. You shall sign Form EC 8B and invite each candidate or Party Agent of the political parties to sign the form. The refusal of the Party agents to sign the results will not however invalidate the result of the poll.
7. You shall then give a copy of the signed Form EC 8B to:
A. Each party agent
B. The security agents
C. The original copy to the Local Government Collation Officer, and
D. The Electoral Officer.
8. Post a copy of the result at the collation center.
AT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL
1. The Local Government Collation Officer is in charge of the Local Government Collation centre
2. You are to liaise with the security agents in maintaining law and order at the Collation Center.
3. You shall use Form EC 8C to collate results from Form EC 8B submitted to you by the Registration Area Center Officers, Registration Area by Registration Area.
4. You shall enter in Form EC 8C votes scored by the candidates as recorded on Form EC 8B to get the results for the candidates for that Federal Constituency.
5. Where there has been an entry in Form EC40G, details of such entries shall be collated in Form EC40G1.
6. You shall then loudly announce the total votes scored by all candidates in the Local Government Area.
7. You shall sign Form EC 8C and invite the Party Agents to sign the form. Their refusal to sign the form will however not invalidate the result of the Poll.
8. You shall then distribute copies of the signed Form EC 8C as follows:
A. The original copy for the Returning Officer at the State level,
B. Copies for the candidates
C. One copy for the Resident Electoral Commissioner through the Electoral Officer
D. One copy for the Electoral Officer
E. A copy each for the security agents.
9. Announce and declare the result of the election.
10. Post a copy of the result at the Collation Center.
AT THE STATE LEVEL
1. The State Returning Officer is in charge of the State Collation Centre.
2. You shall liaise with the security agents to ensure that law and order is maintained at the Collation Center.
3. You shall use Form EC 8D to collate results from Form EC 8C submitted to you by the Local Government Returning Officers, local government area by local government area, to get state results for the candidates.
4. Where there has been an entry in Form EC40G1, details of such entries shall be collated in Form EC40G2.
5. You shall then loudly announce the results scored by all candidates in the state taking into consideration form EC40G2.
6. You shall then sign Form EC 8D and invite the Party Agents to sign the form. Their refusal to sign the form will however not invalidate the result of the Poll.
7. You shall then distribute copies of the signed Form EC 8D as follows:
A. The original copy to the Chief Electoral Officer for the Federation,
B. Copies for the candidates,
C. One copy for the Resident Electoral Commissioner, and
D. A copy each for the security agents.
8. Post a copy of the result at the Collation Center.
THE CHARGE
You are called upon to perform a very important national assignment, which calls for seriousness of purpose, honesty and integrity.
You must take both the training and the actual exercise seriously. Master thoroughly the various forms and materials you will handle in the conduct of the elections. Practice as often as possible how to fill the forms as practice makes perfect.
The Independent National Electoral Commission and indeed the entire nation look up to you to act your part well and ensure free, fair and credible elections.
PROF. ATTAHIRU MUHAMMADU JEGA, O.F.R.
CHAIRMAN, INEC.
MARCH, 2011.
Source: GUIDELINES FOR THE GENERAL ELECTIONS APRIL 2011 (http://www.inecnigeria.org/guidelines-for-the-general-elections-april-2011/)