Follow Your Vote

YOUR VOTE.ONE COUNT.EVERY STOP.UNCHANGED.

On Saturday 16 January 2027, the number of votes counted at your polling unit must be the same number that arrives at the collation centre. Results have been changed on the way before. This time, millions of Nigerians will be following their vote and watching every figure from polling unit to the collation centre.

OPERATION RESCUE NIGERIA

—days to the presidential and National Assembly elections
Your vote Abuja

Watch one number travel

Say your candidate gets 214 votes at your polling unit. Here is everywhere that 214 must appear, unchanged, before the final result is declared.

  1. 1
    Your polling unit, morning

    Get accredited and vote

    Take your PVC to the polling unit it is registered to. Your identity is checked on the BVAS machine, then you vote in secret.

    You: arrive early, vote, keep your ballot private.
    Accredited on BVAS✓
  2. 2
    Your polling unit, after the poll closes

    Stay and watch the count

    Votes are counted in the open at the polling unit, in front of party agents, observers and voters who chose to stay.

    You: wait calmly at a respectful distance. Count along and write the numbers down.
    Counted aloud214
  3. 3
    Your polling unit, result announced

    Photograph the result sheet

    The result is written on Form EC8A, signed by the presiding officer and party agents, announced, and a copy is pasted up at the unit. This sheet is the anchor for everything that follows.

    You: take a clear photo of the pasted result. Note your polling unit code and the time.
    On the EC8A214Photographed
  4. 4
    Your phone, election night

    Check it on IReV

    Under the Electoral Act 2026, the presiding officer must transmit the polling unit result electronically to INEC's Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    You: find your unit on irev.inecnigeria.org and compare every figure with your photo.
    On IReV214Matches ✓
  5. 5
    Ward and local government collation centres

    Check your unit's line at the ward and LGA

    At the ward, your unit's figures are entered line by line, then added up. Ward totals then go to the local government. Collation officers must check figures against BVAS data and the polling unit results.

    You: compare announced figures with IReV and your photo. If a number has changed, send your evidence to a party agent, an accredited observer or a journalist.
    Your unit at the ward214Still 214 ✓
  6. 6
    State and national collation, before anything is declared

    Follow your vote to the final collation

    This is the stop that matters most. Once a result is declared, it can only be reviewed in narrow cases or challenged in court. While collation is still open, any figure that doesn't match the polling unit results must be checked against the original result sheets. That is the window where citizens' records count.

    You: stay with the process until the declaration. Follow every announced figure, peacefully outside the centre where it is safe, or on radio, TV and livestreams. Check each total against the polling unit results your group collected. Record the public announcements. Report any gap at once to party agents, accredited observers and journalists, while it can still be corrected.
    Before the declaration214Checked by citizens
  7. 7
    National collation centre, Abuja

    The declaration

    The returning officer declares the presidential result. If the figures matched at every stop, the declared result reflects how Nigerians actually voted. Your 214 is inside that national total.

    You: keep your photos, videos and notes. A citizen's record is evidence.
    Inside the national total214Arrived unchanged

Osun showed it can be done

15 August 2026Osun State governorship election

On 16 January, we do this in every state.

In Osun, citizens followed their votes from the polling unit to the collation centre, and recorded the process as it happened. It was a civic template: ordinary people watching every figure, all the way through.

  • 3,763polling units across Osun's 30 local government areas, each one producing a result sheet to follow
  • 30local government collation centres, each watched by independent observers from Yiaga Africa
  • ✓Yiaga Africa found the official results accurately reflected the ballots counted at the polling units

When figures are watched at every stop, they arrive unchanged. The presidential election covers every state and the FCT, so it needs citizens in every polling unit doing what Osun did.

Does it match?

Type one figure from your polling unit result, then the same figure from the collation centre. If they're the same, your vote arrived unchanged. Works for any election, at any level of collation.

Polling unit result Polling unit code 24-05-03-012 Accredited voters512 Party A 214 Party B167 Party C88 Other parties21 Total valid votes490 Rejected votes9 Presiding officerParty agents
An illustration, not the official form. Check one line at a time, such as one party's votes.

Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Bookmark the tool on its own: followyourvote.com/check.html

Your election day checklist

Tick these off in the days before. Your ticks are saved on this phone only.

Follow it peacefully, follow it lawfully

Following your vote is a civic duty, not a confrontation. Calm, organised citizens with evidence are what keep the figures honest.

Do

  • Stay orderly and at a distance that doesn't crowd officials or voters.
  • Follow instructions from INEC officials and security personnel.
  • Photograph the pasted result sheet, not people.
  • Gather peacefully outside collation centres only where it is safe to do so.
  • Pass concerns to party agents, accredited observers or journalists.
  • Wait for official results before sharing totals as final.

Don't

  • Don't show or photograph your marked ballot. Keep your vote secret.
  • Don't campaign or wear party colours at the polling unit. Campaigns end 24 hours before election day.
  • Don't touch election materials or obstruct officials.
  • Don't chase vehicles carrying results or force your way into a collation centre.
  • Don't share rumours or edited images. Post only what you saw.

Recording the process

  • Film or photograph the pasted result sheet and figures read out in public.
  • Say the date, time and polling unit or collation centre out loud at the start of each video.
  • Don't film voters casting their ballots, and don't film anyone's marked ballot.
  • Keep the original file. Don't crop, filter or edit it. Unedited footage is stronger evidence.
  • Back it up to a second phone or a family member as soon as you can.
  • If an official or security officer asks you to stop, stop, step back and note what happened.

What the Electoral Act 2026 says

The Electoral Act 2026 was signed into law on 18 February 2026, replacing the 2022 Act. These are the sections that protect your polling unit count on its journey.

s. 47

Voters are accredited at the polling unit using BVAS, which records how many were accredited.

s. 60

Votes are counted at the polling unit and the result recorded on Form EC8A.

s. 60(3)

The presiding officer must transmit the result electronically to IReV. Where transmission fails, the signed EC8A remains the basis for collation.

s. 62(1)

Election materials are moved under security, and polling agents or candidates may go with them to the collation centre.

s. 62(4)–(8)

Collation officers must check votes against polling unit results and BVAS data. Disputed results are checked against the original EC8A and re-collated if wrong.

s. 65

After a declaration, INEC can review it only in narrow cases, such as a declaration made under duress or against collation procedures. That's why figures must be checked before the declaration.

This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Read the full Act via the sources below.

Take the pledge

Make it, then send it to your family WhatsApp group. Every Nigerian who watches the count makes the figures harder to change.

Your pledge appears here, ready to copy or share.

Questions people ask

Why does following the figures matter so much?

Every final result is built by adding up polling unit results. If the figures are changed between the polling unit and the collation centre, the declared result no longer reflects how people voted. When citizens hold a photo of every result sheet and check it at every stop, a changed figure can be spotted and challenged.

Am I allowed to stay at the polling unit after voting?

Voters may choose to remain, peacefully and at a distance, to watch the count. Follow the instructions of INEC officials and security personnel on where to stand, and leave if asked to clear an area for safety.

Should I follow the vehicle carrying the results?

No. The law lets polling agents and candidates go with election materials to the collation centre. Citizens follow the figures instead: the photo of the result sheet, the IReV upload and the totals announced at each level. That way, nobody is put in danger and every change still leaves a trace.

Can I go inside the collation centre?

Collation centres are usually limited to election officials, party agents, accredited observers and accredited journalists. Most citizens follow collation by comparing announced totals with IReV and by giving their polling unit photos to people who are inside.

What if the IReV result doesn't match my photo?

Don't argue with officials. Save your photo and note the polling unit code, the time and which figure differs. Send it to a party agent, an accredited observer group or a journalist, who can raise it at collation, where disputed results must be checked against the original EC8A.

My result isn't on IReV yet. Is something wrong?

Uploads can be delayed by network problems. The law says the signed EC8A is still the basis for collation, which is why your photo of the pasted result matters. Keep checking and keep your photo.

Is this campaign for a party or candidate?

No. Follow Your Vote is non-partisan, non-tribal and non-religious. It doesn't matter who you vote for. It matters that your vote arrives as it was counted.