inecnigeria.org Voting Procedure : Independent National Election Commission Nigeria

Organisation : Independent National Election Commission
Facility : Voting Procedure
Country : Nigeria

Voting Procedure : https://www.electionin.org/uploads/80-FINAL-Approved-2015-Election-Guidelines-as-signed-PDF.pdf
Home Page : http://www.inecnigeria.org/

ACCREDITATION AND VOTING PROCEDURE A ELECTIONS (See attached Schematics I(a), I(b), II(a) and II(b) :
7(a) No person shall be allowed to vote at any polling unit/voting point other than the one to which he/she is allotted and his/her name appears on the register of voters, and he/she presents his/her permanent voter’s card, and has been verified by the Card Reader, or as otherwise determined by the Commission.
(b) No voter shall cast his/her vote other than by personally attending the polling unit/voting point and in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
(c) The Presiding Officer shall regulate the admission of voters to the polling unit/voting point, and shall exclude all other persons except candidates or their polling agents, other poll and election officials, security personnel, accredited observers and any other person who in his opinion has lawful reason to be admitted.

8(a) There shall be separate periods for accreditation and voting.
(b) The accreditation process shall comprise of verification of voters using the Card Reader; Checking of the Register of voters; and inking of the cuticle of the specified finger.
(c) Accreditation shall commence at 8:00 am and close at 1:00 p.m, provided that all voters who are already on the queue by 1:00 pm shall be accredited.

9. At 8:00 am, the Presiding Officer shall:
(a) allow voters into the polling unit in an orderly queue;
(b) Separate the queue between men and women, where the culture does not allow the mingling of men and women;
(c) declare the polling unit open for accreditation;
(d) introduce the poll officials, and polling agents present; and
(e) explain the accreditation procedure.
10. The voter shall present himself/herself to the APO (III) for the polling unit or voting point who shall determine that he/she is at the correct polling unit or voting point, and if satisfied direct the voter to the APO I.
(a) the APO I shall:
i. request for the PVC from the voter;
ii. read the PVC using the Card Reader to ascertain that the photograph on the permanent voter’s card is that of the voter and that the polling unit details correspond with those of that polling unit;
iii. request the voter to place the appropriate finger in the place provided on the Card Reader for authentication; and
(b) on verification by the Card Reader, proceed to document the gender of the voter, and the status where applicable of any voter with disability.

11. The verified voter shall then present himself/herself to the APO
II who shall:
(a) request for the permanent voter’s card;
(b) check the Register of Voters to confirm that the voter’s name, details, and Voter Identification Number (VIN) are as contained on the Register of Voters;
(c) tick the left side of the name of the voter, if the person’s name is on the Register of Voters;
(d) apply indelible ink to the cuticle of the specified finger on the left hand, and issue him/her with an accreditation tag bearing the signature of the PO or the APO II delegated by him/her, date of election, and the voter’s serial number on the Register of Voters;
(e) advise the voter to leave the polling unit/voting point area and to be available by 1:30pm for commencement of voting at the conclusion of accreditation.

12(a) Where the permanent voters’ card (PVC) presented by the voter is not for the polling unit, the APO I shall politely inform the voter and advise him/her to proceed to the appropriate polling unit.
(b) Where the voter is not verified after the 2nd attempt using the Card Reader, the APO I shall refer the voter to the Presiding Officer / APO (VP) as the case may be, who shall
i. Examine and ascertain if the PVC belongs to the voter.
ii. If satisfied that it belongs to the voter and that the voter had not been previously verified, direct the voter to the APO II for Register of Voters check and inking to continue with other accreditation processes.
(c) In the event that the PVC fails to be read by the Card Reader, the APO I shall refer the voter to the Presiding officer or APO (VP) as the case may be, who shall
i. file a report of the incident;
ii. inform the voter of problem, and that he / she cannot be accredited; and
iii. politely request the voter to leave the polling zone.

13(a) In the event of sustained malfunction of the Card Reader, the Presiding Officer shall:
i. immediately inform the Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO), the Electoral Officer (EO) , and the Electoral Operations Support Centre (EOSC) for replacement; and
ii. suspend accreditation until a new Card Reader is made available;
iii. file a report of the incident; and
iv. inform the voters and polling agents of the situation.
(b) Where a replacement Card Reader is not available by 1:00pm, the Presiding Officer or APO (VP) as the case may be, shall:
i. inform the SPO, EO, and EOSC of the situation;
ii. file a report of the incident; and
iii. inform the voters and polling agents that accreditation and voting for the affected polling unit or voting point, shall continue the following day.

14. At 1:00 pm or whenever accreditation ends, the Presiding Officer shall:
(a) declare accreditation closed, but ensure that all eligible voters already on the queue by 1.00 pm are accredited;
(b) direct the security agent present to stand behind the last person on the queue to prevent anyone from joining it;
(c) obtain the number of voters verified from the Card Reader;
(d) count the number of accredited voters, in the Register of Voters.
(e) compare the number verified by the Card Reader with the number checked in the Register of Voters,
(f) Where the two numbers agree, announce loudly the number of accredited voters and the total number of voters in the Register of Voters for the polling unit/voting point.
(g) enter the figures into the appropriate forms EC.8A/EC8VP series.

15(a).Where a discrepancy occurs between the number of voters verified and the number checked in the Register of Voters, the Presiding Officer shall
(b) take into account any incidents of failed verification and reconcile the numbers;

16(a)Voting commences at 1:30 pm or whenever accreditation ends.
(b) The Presiding Officer, after setting up the polling unit layout in the manner prescribed, shall:
i. explain the voting procedure to the voters.
ii. invite all voters to form a single queue.
iii. separate the queue between men and women, where the culture does not allow the mingling of men and women.
iv. request a security agent to stand behind the last person on the queue to prevent any unaccredited person joining in.
v. open the ballot box and display it in the full view of all persons present at the polling unit/voting point to show that the ballot box is empty.
vi. lock the ballot box with the seal provided and place it in the open and most suitable position within the polling unit or voting point.
vii. place the ballot papers and tendered ballot papers on the table.
viii. declare the poll open.
ix. invite the voters on the queue to approach the APO II in an orderly manner.