With barely six weeks to the 2023 general elections, political campaigns are in top gear across the country while Nigerians are making concerted efforts to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC).
Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced January 29 as the new deadline for collecting PVCs.
As the much-awaited election closes in, voters need to have good knowledge of the major forms that will be used on election day.
Here are the essential forms to be used on election day:
Form EC8A
The form EC8A is also known as the statement of the poll result from polling units. While EC8A is used for presidential elections, EC8A (i) and (ii) are used for Senatorial and House of Representatives elections, respectively.
In governorship elections, the EC8A and EC8A (i) are used for governorship and state house of assembly elections.
The presiding officer (PO) in any election is responsible for recording the necessary details on this form. The details include the number of registered voters in the voters’ register and the number of accredited voters.
It also includes the number of ballot papers issued to the polling unit and the number of unused ballot papers; the number of spoilt ballot papers; total valid votes scored by each of the political party in figures and words; total valid votes scored by all the parties and a total number of unused ballot papers.
Also, at the bottom of Form EC8A, the PO is expected to cross out the NOT CONTESTED phrase at the bottom of the form where the election was held and write his/her name on the form with a stamp or signature and date.
FORM EC 8B
This has to do with the summary of results from polling units collation at the registration area level.
The form includes all results from different polling units collected by a collation officer.
It includes the names of each polling unit at the area level, the number of registered voters at each PU, the number of accredited voters; the number of votes for the political parties as recorded in each polling unit; the total number of votes, rejected votes and total votes cast.
The Registration Area/Ward Collation officers sign or stamp the form with a date. Party agents subsequently vet the result by appending their signatures and names.
FORM EC 25 series
The EC25B is the electoral receipt forwards and units. Five copies of this are issued to voting points, same with the EC25B (i), the materials receipt reverse logistics.
The officer collecting the electoral materials fills the EC25B after inspection of materials and before the commencement of elections, according to Section 72 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Clause 17(c) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Elections 2022.
Form EC25D includes details of the distribution of sensitive materials attendance register. Only one is issued to each local government and registration area.
Form EC 40 Series
Form EC 40A
This is the Ballot Paper account and Verification Form. First, the presiding officer notes the type of election being conducted. It contains the number of ballot papers issued to the polling units and serial numbers. This is usually filled at the opening of the poll.
At the end of the poll, the presiding officer also fills serial numbers of all unused ballot papers, followed by the quantity of used and unused ballot papers.
The electoral officer subsequently signs or stamps the form at the end. Four copies are assigned to each polling unit.
The Form EC 40B
This contains details of spoilt and rejected ballot papers. The presiding officer of the polling unit provides all the necessary details, including the type of election, the date of the election, the quantity of rejected ballot papers, and the number of spoilt ballot papers, followed by their respective serial numbers.
Each polling unit gets two copies of this signed and dated by the presiding officer.
Form EC 40C
This is the statement of used and unused Ballot Paper Forms. The form includes serial numbers of both used and unused ballot papers. The PO also inputs the quantity of used and unused ballot papers. Two copies of the form are distributed to each polling unit in the registration area.
Form EC 40E
This form grants the presiding officer authority to remove a person over misconduct. This form is filled and signed by the PO in which he/she authorises security personnel or any other person to remove a person guilty of misconduct from the polling unit. Two copies of the form are issued to each polling unit.
Form EC 40G
This is a summary of registered voters of polling units where elections were cancelled or did not occur. The form is signed by a collation officer (ward level). It includes names of all polling units under the registration area where the election was not held/cancelled.
Form EC 40G(0)
This includes the number of registered voters of the polling unit where the election was not held, the number of PVCs (Permanent voters cards), and reasons for the cancellation of the election, which could be: voting, BVAS not being replaced after failure or an emergency or disruption. This is filled and signed by the presiding officer.
Form EC 40G (1)
This is for the collation of registered voters of polling units where elections were cancelled or not held at the Local government level. It includes details of all affected registration areas under the local government area, followed by the code, the total number of affected polling units in the registration area and the number of registered voters in these polling units. It is signed/stamped and dated by the collation officer.
Form EC 40G (2)
This is the summary of registered voters of polling units where elections were cancelled or not held. This is collated at the constituency level. It includes the names of all the affected LGAs in the constituency, followed by the total number of affected polling units and the total number of affected registered voters.
Form EC 40G (3) — summary of registered voters of polling units. It is usually used for presidential elections and is usually done at the national level. It includes the number of affected polling units in the various states across the federation. It is signed/stamped and dated by the presidential collation officer.
Form EC 40H and EC40 H (1) — This is the Persons With Disability (PWD) Voter Information and Statistics. It is sectioned into Visually impaired, mobility, hard of hearing, speech impaired, albinism and others to allow for proper identification of PWDs who are also voters.
While this form is usually filled by the Assistant Presiding Officer (APO II), it is signed/stamped and dated by both the APO II and the PO. Meanwhile, Form EC 40H (1) includes all details of PWDs signed and dated by the presiding officer.
Form EC 40H (2)— PWD Voter Information and Statistics (PU Summary) at the Registration Area Level. It includes the details of all PWD voters in all polling units under the registration area and is usually signed and dated by the RA collation officer.
Form EC 40H (3) is a collation of details on Form EC 40H (2) by the local government collation officer, Form EC 40H (4) is collated at the state level, while Form EC 40H (5) is at the national level.
