How the Poll Works

How votes are collected

Anyone can vote without registering. You pick one candidate and confirm. We never ask for your name, email, phone number, social account or voter card.

How duplicate voting is discouraged

• Your browser receives a random, anonymous identifier in a secure, HttpOnly cookie.
• From it we derive a one-way voting credential for each poll. We store only the scrambled credential, never the identifier itself.
• The database refuses a second credential for the same poll, even if two submissions arrive at the same instant.
• Votes from a single network are rate-limited, and hidden bot traps reject automated submissions.

These measures mean a browser can normally vote only once. They are not a guarantee of one person, one vote: someone could vote again from a different device or browser.

What anonymity means here

Ballots and participation records are kept in separate tables. A ballot records only the poll, the candidate and the hour it was cast. There is nothing that links it back to a browser, a network or a commenter.

How results are calculated

Results are counted on our servers from accepted ballot records only. A candidate's share is their votes divided by all valid votes in the poll. Results refresh automatically.

Limitations of online polls

Participants choose themselves, so results reflect the people who visit and vote, not the Nigerian electorate. This is an online popularity poll, not a scientifically representative survey and not an official election result.

How comments are moderated

Comments are screened automatically for abuse, spam and duplicates, and can be reported by visitors. Moderators may hide, remove or pin comments. See our comment guidelines.

How news sources are selected

Our editorial updates are added and checked by an editor. A separate live feed links directly to original election and INEC headlines from Punch, Vanguard, Arise TV and Channels TV. We credit and link every source. See our editorial policy.