VOTER EDUCATION: Know who is who inside a polling station

Typically, a polling station has about 10 polling officers headed by a Presiding Officer, who is in charge of the polling station and the voting process from start to finish.

The setup inside a polling station with a single entry point is like in the attachment below.

There are also polling agents whose number at a polling station depends on the number of political parties and independent candidates contesting in the election.

In terms of section 95(5) of the Electoral Act, political parties and independent candidates can each appoint up to three polling agents for a polling station, but only one polling agent of a political party or an independent candidate is allowed inside the polling station at any single time to observe the polling process involving three elections: local authority, parliamentary and presidential.

The 10 polling officers in a typical polling station are: Presiding Officer, Recording Officer, Voters Roll Officer
Statistics Officer, Ballot Issuer [Presidential election], Ballot Issuer [National Assembly election], Ballot Issuer [Local Authority election]
Indelible Ink/ Acetone Officer, Usher and aPolice Officer

Typically, the Presiding Officer receives the election material for his or her polling station three days before the election to setup and ready the polling station.

Once he or she has setup the polling station and has made sure that everything required is in place, the Presiding Officer runs or conducts training of the polling officers to rehearse the whole works of the polling process.

The polling officers train by rotating the polling process roles to ensure that everyone knows and understands every step in the polling process and can perform any role or function in the process.

Polling agents may be deployed before the polls open on election day, and this is in fact a wise thing to do; in any event it is advisable that polling agents be present during the rehearsal training of polling officers by the Presiding Officer, and for the polling agents to remain right through the polling process to its end.

Attached below is the inside look of a typical polling station with a single entry point