Polling unit location is a challenge most Nigerian voters can face on election day. So, how to locate and confirm your polling unit before #NigeriaDecides2023 election is a report every Nigerian eligible voter needs to know before February 25th.
In less than six days, Nigerians will go to the polls to cast their votes for their choice candidates.
This is another deciding period for the Federal Republic of Nigeria as it is very crucial for the African continent that this giant of Africa elects best leaders.
However, as Nigerians are gearing up to cast their votes on the 25th of February, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has discovered during mock exercise that some voters could not locate their polling units.
READ ALSO: BVAS Voting Technology By INEC Has Many Loopholes
Consequently, this report will show you how to locate your polling unit before election day.
INEC is advising voters to confirm the locations of their polling units through a dedicated portal on its website.
Steps:
There are two ways you can confirm the location of your polling unit before election day:
Step 1: Via SMS:
You can check for your polling unit and its location suing your phone and through SMS.
How?
Text the name of your state, your last name and the last 6-digit of your Voter Identification Number (VIN) to 09062830860 or to 09062830861.
When you text that to any of the numbers, you will get a message showing the name and location of your polling unit.
Step 2:
Alternatively, you can check your polling unit by visiting the INEC portal.
On your phone’s browser, type www.voters.inecnigeria.org or type www.cvr.inecnigeria.org/vvs.
Things That Could Make You Not Vote On Election Day:
Accreditation for the #NigeriaDecides2023 election Starts 8.30 am and ends by 2. 30pm:
On election day which is 25th February, 2023, accreditation starts by 8.30 am. So, all voters must be at their polling units on time.
According to INEC, all eligible voters must get to their polling units before 2. 30pm.
What this means is that you must get to your polling units and join the queue on or before 2.30 pm so that INEC official at the poling unit can accredit you.
If you get to your polling unit any time later than 2.30pm, you will not be accredited. In fact, you will not be allowed to join the queue.
What that means is that you will not be casting your vote, hence, you would self-disenfranchise yourself.
Simply put: You will not vote for your choice candidate again.
So, ensure that you arrive your polling units on time and join the queue so that you would be accredited.
Monitoring #NigeriaDecides2023 election Real Time to ensure no rigging, manipulation, announcement of wrong results from polling units:
This election has measures to ensure there is no rigging, manipulation, announcement of fake results from polling units and many other electoral frauds.
You too can monitor the process yourself using your phone!
INEC has provided a website it calls IReV where you can monitor the #NigeriaDecides2023 election and ensure that everything is transparent and free from rigging.
According to INEC, “Transparency in elections promotes accountability and helps to prevent fraud, corruption, and manipulation of the process.
“The IReV portal has come to say and will be used to upload the PU results in real-time for the #NigeriaDecides2023 election.”
How To Monitor Electoral processes to avoid rigging, fraud and other electoral malpractices.
According to INEC, you can monitor the whole process yourself and with just your phone by visiting official INEC’s IReV portal.
Steps:
1. Visit the IReV portal here.
2. Log in with your email and password.
3. If you don’t have account, then create one so you can get login details to log in.
Lo into the portal and monitor elections.
Virtual Assistant To Help INEC ad-hoc officials:
If you are an INEC ad-hoc official and need any form of assistant with any of the electoral processes on the election day, then you need not worry.
Is the BVAS machine acting up? What about the accreditation process? The capture is not working? No portal login access?
Well, all these issues will be taken care of by the virtual assistant.
What to do:
According to INEC, to have access to the virtual assistant, you need to visit INEC’s virtual assistant portal on Telegram.
You can ask the virtual assistant anything or any question regarding the electoral process.
The Process:
- Check the INEC virtual assistant portal here.
- Follow the prompts from the INEC portal that opens when you clicked on the link above.
- Enter your phone number.
- If your phone number is not there, don’t panic.
- Just follow the prompts and enter your details.
- The system will generate a unique password for you.
- This will always give you access to the training virtual assistant 24/7.
- Then voila! You are in.
- You can now ask the virtual assistant any question regarding the whole electoral process.
Identification Tags for Party, polling and collation Agents:
You would be arrested on election day if you don’t have any identification tag as a party, polling and or collation agent.
According to INEC, : The Commission is finalising the issuance of 1,642,386 identification tags for the Polling and Collation Agents nominated by the 18 political parties made up of 1,574,301 Polling Agents and 68,085 Collation Agents.”
INEC says “Only Identification tags issued by the Commission will be recognised on election day and violators are liable to arrest and prosecution for impersonation.”
Similarly, if two party agents show up at a polling unit and claim both are representing the party, they could be arrested if there arises commotion.
“A situation where two or more agents claim to represent a political party, resulting in commotion at polling units or collation centres, is unacceptable.”
INEC said parties should ensure that only accredited party agents represent them.
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