Section 56
Voting at appropriate polling unitNo person shall be permitted to vote at any polling unit other than the one to which he or she is allotted.
This section simply seeks to ensure that persons vote at the polling unit assigned to them during registration or approved transfer of polling unit.
In cases of mistake by a voter, INEC Regulations allows their polling officers to advise of inform a voter of their appropriate Polling Unit where the PVC presented by the voter is not meant for that particular Polling Unit.
Effect of voting at a polling unit other than the voter’s registered polling unit.
HON. MOSES ESSIN & 1 OR. v. HON. GODWIN EKPO & 2 ORS. (CA/C/EP/SHA/AKW/29/2023) (Unreported) Per Gabriel Kolawale, JCA @ Pg. 12
In discountenancing the Appellant’s argument that there is a presumption of regularity and substantial compliance in the election results of 6 polling units held
at the Ward Collation Center instead of the designated units, the Court of Appeal held that:
“It is beyond argument that the purport of the above provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the
conduct of Elections 2022 that it is certainly the intention of the draftsmen that elections shall be conducted in the respective polling
units designated for that purpose. The Legislature thought it proper and for right reasons, by Section 40 of the Electoral Act, 2022,
to mandate the 3rd Respondent to divide each local government areas into registration areas or electoral wards not being less than 10
and not more than 20; and also establish adequate number of polling units in each registration area or electoral ward and shall a lot
voters to such Polling Units. It is therefore reasonably expected that once voters are allotted polling units, the voters will cast their
votes in the respective polling units they were allotted to.”
