Section 60
Counting of votes and forms(1) The Presiding officer shall, after counting the votes at the polling unit, enter the votes scored by each candidate in a form to be prescribed by the Commission as the case may be.
(2) The form shall be signed and stamped by the presiding officer and counter signed by the candidates or their polling agents where available at the polling unit.
(3) The presiding officer shall give to the polling agents and the police officer where available a copy each of the completed forms after it has been duly signed as provided under subsection (2).
(4) The presiding officer shall count and announce the result at the polling unit.
(5) The presiding officer shall transfer the results including total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.
(6) A presiding officer who wilfully contravenes any provision of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not more than N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of at least six months.
The section outlines the procedure for counting votes and recording scores on forms prescribed by INEC. Some of the forms used at this level are forms EC8A (results sheet) and EC60E (Publication of Result Poster).
A new provision is added to the 2022 Act which is that the Presiding Officer shall transfer the results including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the commission – 60 (5).
When this provision was enacted in 2022, it was believed that it prioritised and expanded the scope of the Act to accommodate the use of technology in the results collation process by INEC. However, the Supreme Court, following the 2023 election litigation has held that this provision does not mandate electronic collation of results by INEC nor does it dispense with the manual collation of results
A new provision is added to the 2022 Act which is that the Presiding Officer shall transfer the results including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the commission – 60 (5).
This expands the scope of the Act to accommodate the use of technology in the results collation process by INEC. It should be noted that it does not dispense with manual collation of results.
Voting in an election occurs at polling units established under the Act by INEC with a Presiding Officer over each polling unit. The Presiding Officer is responsible for the voting process in that polling unit from the accreditation of voters to the announcement or cancellation of results in that polling unit as the case may be.
Therefore, the results from the polling units as declared and entered in the prescribed form by the Presiding Officers form the foundation of the overall election results to the declared by INEC.
A penalty is specified for Presiding Officers who willfully contravene the procedure for counting of votes, recording of forms and transfer of results i.e., a fine of not more than N500,000 or a term of imprisonment of at least six months – 60 (6).
On the Procedure for Counting Votes at the Polling Unit.
ABUBAKAR ATIKU & 1 OR. v. INEC & 2 ORS (SC/CV/935/2023) (Unreported) Pg. 60-60, Per Abubakar JSC
In this case, the Supreme Court elucidated the procedure for counting votes and announcing the results at the polling units as follows:
“Section 60 of the Electoral Act, 2022 outlines the process of counting votes at the polling unit. It mandates the presiding officer to enter
the votes scored by each candidate in a form prescribed by the Commission. This form is to be signed and stamped by the presiding officer,
counter-signed by candidates or their polling agents (where available), and copies are to be distributed to polling agents and the police officer.
Furthermore, the presiding officer is required to count and announce the result at the polling unit and transfer the results in a manner prescribed by
the commission. It is clear to me, that it is a fact conceded by the learned counsel for the Appellants that the 1st Respondent has been given the
discretion to prescribe the manner in which results will be transferred.”
On the Mode of Transfer of Results by the Presiding Officer
APC V. LABOUR PARTY & 42 ORS (Appeal No. CA/LAG/CV/332/2023) (Unreported)
INEC is not mandatorily required to electronically transmit election results under the Electoral Act and INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections
On the Importance of Polling Unit Results
Abdullahi Umar Kamba & PDP v. Rabiu Garba Kamba, APC & INEC (CA/S/EP/HR/KB/48/2023) (Unreported)
The Court of Appeal held that duplicate copies of the result sheets given to agents of the 2nd Appellant by virtue of Section 60 (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 are in fact original copies within the contemplation of Section 86 (4) of the Evidence Act, 2011. And that it follows therefore that in the eyes of the law, they are original result sheets.
SUNDAY & ANOR v. INEC & ORS (2019) LPELR-49851(CA)It is indeed a trite principle of law, that polling unit results (Forms EC8A) are the basic or primary evidence of votes cast in an election conducted under the Electoral Act. Such forms have constituted the bedrock foundation upon which the pyramid of an election process is constructed.
TAKORI V. MATAWALLE (2020) 17 NWLR (PT. 1752) 165 @ 182 Paras. E-HThere is a rebuttable presumption that any election result declared by a Returning officer is authentic and correct and the burden of rebutting that presumption is on the person who challenges its correctness.
Paragraph 35 of the 2022 INEC Regulations provides for Close of Voting Procedures, Sorting and Counting of Ballots and Recording of Votes.
Paragraph 37 mandates the Presiding Officer after completing the EC8A result sheet, to complete and paste the completed Publication of Result Poster EC60(E) form at the Polling Unit conspicuously. Pasting of Form EC60E is mandatory and failure to do so may amount to dereliction of duty.
