INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
(INEC)
GUIDELINES FOR FIELD OPERATIONS FOR THE 2011
ELECTIONS
1.0 The following elections are statutorily to be conducted by the
Commission in accordance with the provisions of 1999 Constitution
and 2010 Electoral Act as amended.
a) Election to the Office of the President
b) Election to Membership of the Senate
c) Election to Membership of the House of Representatives
d) Election to the Office of Governor of a State
e) Election to Membership of House of Assembly of a State
Note: The Election to the Office of the President or the Governor of
a State may proceed to a run-off stage if no clear winner emerges at
first ballot as provided by Law.
2.0 Date of Elections
As contained in the timeline issued by the Commission, 2011 General
elections are scheduled to hold as follows:
Saturday 2nd April, 2011 - National Assembly Elections
Saturday 9th April, 2011 - Presidential Election
Saturday 16th April, 2011 - Governorship and State Assembly
Elections
3.0 Allocation of Voters to Polling Units (PUs) and Voting Points
(VPs)
The verified number of Polling Units is 119,973 Nationwide. Polling
Units with more than 300 registered voters are to be sub-divided into
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voting points for ease of accreditation and balloting. A voting point
is a location within a PU where accreditation/issuance of ballot papers
take place. No voting point should have more than 300 Registered
Voters.
4.0 Polling Station Officials
Each Polling Unit shall have full compliment of Polling Station
officials , that is:
1 Presiding Officer
1 Assistant Presiding Officer I (APOI/Poll Clerk)
1 Assistant Presiding Officer II (APOII/Poll Assistant)
Note: Where a voting point has been created in a Polling Unit, such
voting point shall have a Poll Clerk and a Poll Assistant working under
the same Presiding Officer.
4.1 There shall be one Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO) for each
Registration Area (RA) provided that where a Registration Area
has more than 25 Polling Units; there shall be one (1) or more
Assistant Supervisory Presiding Officer (ASPO) as the case may be,
in the ratio of 1:25. An ASPO shall be so designated from among
the Presiding Officers nearest to the Registration Area Collation
Centre.
4.2 The SPOs shall be responsible for collection of all election
materials from the Electoral Officer (E.O.) for distribution to the
Presiding Officers of all the PUs under his or her supervision and
the retrieval of same at the end of poll, and where applicable,
ASPOs will assist the SPOs in this regard.
5.0 Accredited Polling/Party Agents and Accredited Observers
Accredited Polling/Party Agents and Accredited Observers are entitled
to observe the distribution of materials, the entire voting, counting
and collation processes. They should not however interfere with any
of the processes.
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6.0 Camping of Officials
All Electoral Officials i.e. Polling Station officials and Security Agents
shall report for camping to their respective Registration Area Collation
Centre/Camp on the eve of polls. Final attendance will be taken for
all personnel before distribution of materials.
In addition, all vehicles engaged for election duty by the Commission
shall report at the Registration Area Collation Centre/Camp on the
eve of polls to facilitate timely deployment of men and materials
necessary for preparation and early commencement of poll.
7.0 Accreditation and Voting Processes
i. Accreditation shall commence at 8:00am and end at 12:00noon
on the day of poll, provided that any voter already on the
queue at 12:00 noon shall be accredited.
ii. Each prospective voter is expected to come with his or her
Voter’s Card, queue up and have his or her particulars checked
on the Register of Voters and the appropriate check-box on the
left hand corner of the voters’ photograph on the register
marked as evidence of accreditation.
iii. The Voters’ Register for each Polling Unit shall be arranged in
alphabetic order with the voters surname first, then serially and
page numbered.
iv. Number of registered voters for each PU shall be entered in the
appropriate Statement of Result of Poll form i.e. Form EC 8A
series.
v. A simple tag-on number indicating page/serial number (e.g
5/75 indicating Page 5 serial number 75) is affixed to the back
of the Voter’s Card during accreditation to facilitate easy
reference during issuance of ballot papers. Use of masking tape
is recommended at one (1) roll per Voting Point.
vi. Indelible ink shall be applied to the appropriate finger on the
left hand as further proof of accreditation.
vii. Accreditation shall take place at each Polling Unit or Voting
Point and will involve all Polling Station Officials.
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viii. The Presiding Officer shall ensure that the Register of Voters is
proportionally split among the Voting Points such that no Voting
Point shall be more than 300 voters.
ix. The total number of accredited voters shall be entered into the
appropriate Statement of Result of Poll form i.e. Form EC 8A
series.
8.0 Voting
i. All accredited voters shall be invited to queue up at 12:30pm
for a final head count which shall be loudly announced by the
Presiding Officer.
ii. The number of voters on queue to vote shall be entered into
the Statement of Result of Poll form i.e. Form EC 8A series.
iii. Ballot papers signed, stamped and dated appropriately for the
election shall be issued to the verified accredited voter on
queue.
iv. The voter shall thereafter proceed to the voting
cubicle/compartment to make the thumb impression for the
party of his choice.
v. The voter shall proceed to drop the ballot in the Transparent
Ballot Box provided for the unit in full view of every person
present.
vi. Voting shall end when the last accredited voter who has been
head-counted and on queue has voted.
vii. After voting, a voter may remain until the votes are announced.
9.0 Post Poll Procedure
After the last person on the queue has voted, the Presiding Officer
shall announce the closure of poll and proceed to empty the contents
of the box onto the table. He or she will then:
i. Sort out the ballots for the different election types.
ii. Sort out the ballots according to parties and those rejected.
iii. Count the votes for each party loudly.
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iv. Record votes scored by each party in the appropriate Statement
of Result of Poll Form i.e the appropriate Form EC 8A series.
v. Announce the votes scored by each party.
vi. Sign, stamp and date the Result Form and invite the Party
Agents also to sign.
vii. Distribute a copy of the result to each of the Party Agents and
Security Personnel present.
viii. Post the result of poll using Poster EC 60E.
ix. Package all materials used and unused in the appropriate
envelopes properly sealed and labeled and proceed to the
Registration Area Collation Centre
x. Submit the Original of Statement of Result of Poll to the
Registration Area Collation Officer (RACOL).
xi. Submit the used and unused materials to the Supervisory
Presiding Officer (SPO).
10.0 Staffing categories
1. Returning Officers
One (1) per election type and Constituency i.e:
Presidential Election - 1
Governorship Election - 1 per State
Senatorial District Returning Officers - 109
Federal Constituency Returning Officers - 360
State Constituency Returning Officers - 990
2. Collation Officers
Registration Area/Ward Collation Officers
(RACOL) - 8809
LGA/AC Collation Officers - 774
States/FCT Collation Officers - 37
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3. Supervisory Presiding Officers
One (1) or more, as the case may be, per Registration
Area and two (2) or more in cases of Registration Areas with
more than 25 PUs, at the ratio of 1:25 - 9,000
4. Poll Officials
Presiding Officers = 119,973
Poll Clerks = 140,000
Poll Assistants = 140,000
11.0 Levels of Return for each Election
S/N Election Type Venue of Return
1. Presidential Election National Collation Centre, Abuja
2. Governorship Election State Collation Centre, State
Capital
3. Senatorial District Election Senatorial District Collation Centre
(Senate) (3 per State and 1 for FCT Abuja)
Total - 109 Nationwide
4. Federal Constituency Election Federal Constituency Collation
(House of Representatives) Centre
Total 360 Nationwide
5. State Constituency Election State Constituency Collation
(House of Assembly of a Centre
State) Total 990 Nationwide
Issued 23 March 2011
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