VOTING FACT SHEET ON ELECTION DAY PROCEDURES

FACT SHEET ON ELECTION DAY PROCEDURES

The 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections have been rescheduled to 28th March, 2015, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are rescheduled to 11th April, 2015. Polling will be organized in 119, 973 polling units across the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).  

HOURS OF POLLING

·       Polling units will open at 8a.m. for accreditation of voters and close at 1p.m.

·       Voting will begin at 1:30p.m. when every accredited voter will be asked to form a queue, and voting will close when the last person on queue has voted. 

IMPORTANT: No person will be allowed to vote at a polling unit other than the one where he/she registered and got accredited.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To vote in the 2015 elections, one must:

·        Be a Nigerian citizen.

·        Be 18 years and above.

·        Possess a Permanent Voter Card (PVC)

·        Be in the Register of Voters where he/she is assigned to vote

Remember: Voters who do not possess PVC will not be accredited and, consequently, will not be able to vote.

 

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

The Presiding Officer (PO) at the polling unit will:

·        Allow voters into the polling unit in an orderly queue.

·        Where culture disallows men and women mingling on a queue, create separate queues for men and women.

·        Introduce polling agents and poll officials present, including the Asst. Presiding Officer (APO) I who will:

·        Request the voter to present his/her PVC,

·        Read the PVC using the Card Reader, and

·        Request the voter to place appropriate finger on the Card Reader for authentication.

·        On being authenticated, the voter will present himself/herself to APO II who will request for his/her PVC,

·        Check the Register of Voters for the records of the voter,

·        Tick as appropriate on the Register and apply indelible ink on the specified finger of voter’s left hand, and

·        Issue the voter an accreditation tag

VOTING PROCEDURE

The Presiding Officer, after setting out the polling unit in the manner prescribed, will:

·        Invite voters to form a single queue.

·        Where culture disallows men and women mingling on a queue, create separate queues for men and women.

·        Request a security agent to stand behind the last person on queue.

·        Show the empty ballot boxes to all present, lock up the ballot boxes with seals provided, and declare the poll          open.

         Upon a voter’s presentation of his/her PVC, one of the poll officials will:

·        Issue him/her stamped-and-signed ballot papers, folding the ballot papers vertically with the printed side                inwards.

·        Apply indelible ink on the appropriate finger of the voter and request him/her to go to the voting cubicle and           thumb print. (Only one voter is allowed at a time in the voting cubicle.)

·        The voter will thumb print a ballot paper in the space provided beside the party logo of his/her choice, and               deposit the thumb printed ballot paper into the appropriate ballot box placed in open view.

·        After casting his/her ballot, the voter will exit the polling unit quietly.

IMPORTANT: A voter living with disability will be assisted to vote in the polling unit by a person chosen by him/her, other than a poll agent. Where available, visually impaired voters may use Assistive Tactile facilities.

ELECTION DAY OFFENCES

No person shall on the Election Day do any of the following in the polling environment:

·        Campaign for votes, or persuade a voter not to vote for a candidate;

·        Shout slogans concerning the election, or in support of any party

·        Be in possession of an offensive weapon or wear any apparel calculated to intimidate voters;

·        Use a vehicle bearing the color or symbol of a political party or candidate;

·        Loiter without lawful excuse after voting or after being refused to vote;

·        Snatch or destroy any election materials; and

·        Blare siren.