122 on disqualification, one may only add with respect, that even if it were so, it would be a worthwhile circus.
v. De-lineation of Constituencies
It is the duty of the Commission to delineate the country into senatorial districts and federal constituencies for elections into the National Assembly.46 It is also the job of the Commission to delineate state constituencies for purpose of election into the state legislature.47 The constitution has fixed the maximum number of senatorial districts per state at three(3) and the maximum number of federal constituencies for the whole country. The delineation of federal and state constituencies is on the basis of population. The Commission has powers to review the distribution of constituencies as warranted by changes in the structure or population of Nigeria.
123 ii. Issuing Ballot Papers/Actual Voting
After accreditation, ballot papers are then issued to voters. Each ballot paper must contain the symbols of all the parties contesting a particular election.48 Each voter shall then proceed to cast his ballot. Before voting starts there is a duty on the Presiding Officer to show the voters that the ballot box is empty and he shall thereafter keep the ballot box in public view until the end of the poll.49 Where a ballot paper is accidentally destroyed and cannot be used to cast a valid vote, the Presiding Officer has a duty to issue a new one to the voter.50 Blind and incapacitated voters may be assisted by persons of their choice. The Presiding Officer, and in his absence, the polling clerk, is authorized to maintain order at each polling station and subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act may exclude an unruly person from the station.
At the hour prescribed by INEC for the close of polls, a presiding Officer shall declare the polls closed and no new person shall be admitted into the polling station51 while those already inside must be allowed to vote.
iii. Counting of the Votes /Announcement of Results
At the end of voting, counting shall be done at each polling station under the supervision of the presiding officer who shall thereafter enter the results of the election on the prescribed form and sign it. The form shall also be countersigned by the candidates or their polling agents. Copies shall be given to the polling agents and police officers where available. A candidate may personally or through his agent demand a recount of the votes and it is the duty of the presiding officer to ensure that this demand is met. However, only one re-count shall be allowed.52
The result of the election shall be announced at each polling station by the presiding officer.
Subsequently, successive compilations at the wards, local government, state constituency, federal constituency, senatorial district and state collation centers shall be announced at their centers by the appropriate officers.53 These results are also required by law to be posted on the commission‟s notice boards and website. The stipulations for immediate announcement of
48 Electoral Act 2010(as amended) s. 82
49 ibid s. 48
50 ibid s. 55
51 In practice, since elections are usually held in open spaces, this will be achieved by getting police men to stand behind the last voter on the queue and exclude any new entrants.
52 Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) s. 64
53 ibid s. 27 (2)
124 results at each polling station and for extensive publications, is to secure transparency. When data is secreted, there are increased chances of its being finally doctored.
iv. Declaration of Winner/Issue of Certificate of Return.
After collation of the results for each contested office, the winner shall be declared by the appropriate returning officer. The Returning Officer for the Presidential Election is the Chairman of INEC while for the Governorship elections, the returning officers are the Resident Electoral Commissioners.
A Certificate of Return shall be issued to each winner by the Commission within seven days of the election.54 Once the Returning Officer has declared the winner of an election, INEC cannot subsequently withdraw the declared results and announce a different winner.
In Abana v Obi,55 the Returning Officer declared the First Respondent the winner of a seat in the National Assembly Elections in April 12, 2003. By a press release on April 18, 2003, the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner cancelled the earlier announcement and declared the appellant winner of the election. First Respondent‟s petition at the Elections Tribunal succeeded whereas appellant appealed. In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal sitting at Enugu held that INEC has no powers to cancel or withdraw declared results and all an aggrieved party could do (even if an error in the results declared was discovered afterwards) was to approach the Elections Tribunal for redress.
v. Postponement of Elections
The Commission‟s powers to conduct elections extends to the cancellation and postponement of a scheduled election on reasonable apprehension of violence or threat to peace or where there is a disaster or emergency under which the election cannot be held. Where an election in a particular area is postponed, there shall be no return for the constituency in question until the postponed polls are conducted. The Commission may, if satisfied that the result of the
54 ibid s. 75 (1)
55 (2004) 10 NWLR (pt 881) 319 CA
125 election will not be affected by voting in the area(s) in respect of which substituted dates have been appointed, direct that a return of the election be made.56
3. INEC’s Power After the Polls