As we prepare to cast our votes on Saturday, it is essential that we continue to be law-abiding citizens. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
To help you stay within the law, the CDD election war room has compiled a list of behaviours and actions that the law considers to be crimes on election day.
We have highlighted and simplified the expression of some of these actions so that you can be fully informed and avoid committing them.
What behaviour will be viewed as unlawful on election day is defined in Part VII of the 2022 Electoral Act.
You must not give your voter’s card to anyone else for use at an election unless it is an electoral officer acting in the course of his duty. If you do, you commit a crime and are liable on conviction to a N1 million fine or two years in prison, or both.
You are not permitted to possess or hold more than one voter registration card. The penalty for this offence is a fine of one million naira, a two-year prison sentence, or both.
You commit an offense of bribery if before, or during an election, you or any other person who is acting on your behalf, receives money or any other thing of value, to agree to vote or to refrain from voting. In other words, if you are paid to vote or paid to stay home on election day, you are breaking the law. If found guilty, you face a 500,000 fine, a 12-month prison sentence, or both.
If you interfere with or “disturb” a voter who is about to vote, you are breaking the law. (It doesn’t matter if they’re a friend or a family member),
Section 122 of the Electoral Act establishes a requirement of secrecy in voting; in other words, you must not attempt to gain information about who a voter is planning to vote for, or who he or she voted for at a polling unit. This also extends into the INEC guideline prohibiting the use of cell-phones in polling booths. You are also not permitted to take images of your ballot.
These offences carry a fine of 100,000 naira, a three-month prison sentence, or both.
It is a crime to publish a false statement about a candidate’s withdrawal before or during an election. You face a fine of 100,000 naira or 6 months in prison, or both.
Voting or attempting to vote in a polling unit where you have not registered is a crime. You are liable to an imprisonment term of 6 months or a fine of 100,000 naira, or both.
If you bring another person’s voter card to a polling unit on election day, you commit an offence and face a 6-month prison sentence, a 100,000 naira fine, or both.
It is a crime to announce, publish (including on social media), or share election results that you know are false or differ from the signed certificate of return. If you do, you face a 36-month prison sentence with no option for a fine.
Polling officers and agents are not exempt; if you conspire to make a false declaration of results, you commit a crime and face a 500,000 naira fine, a term of 12 months in prison, or both.
Section 126 of the Electoral Act expressly prohibits the following acts from taking place at the polling unit or within 300 metres of the polling unit, on election day:
- Campaigns of any kind are prohibited.
- You must not shout the slogan of any party.
- You are not permitted to persuade any voter to vote for or against a specific candidate.
- Your presence at the polling place must not incite fear or intimidation in any voter; this forbids the wearing of disguises (such as balaclavas or masks), face paint, or the possession of weapons.
- You are not permitted to drive a vehicle sporting any political party’s logo or colours.
- You are not permitted to display any badge, colour, or symbol associated with a political party.
- You are not permitted to sound any sirens.
These are crimes, and anyone convicted of any of them faces a 100,000 naira fine or a six-month prison sentence.
You must refrain from engaging in any form of electoral violence.
- Anyone who snatches or destroys any election material, or any election device, commits an offense and is liable on conviction to an imprisonment term of 24 months.
CDD War-room encourages everyone going out to vote to be law-abiding, to treat other voters with respect and make an effort to keep their emotions in check.
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