WatchTheVotes Terms of Use

Version: 1.0 · Effective date: 12 October 2026 · Last updated: 12 October 2026

These Terms are an agreement between you and SciTun Technologies (CAC registration number 9416492; NDPC registration number NDPC/DPC/07732), of MM2 B Elizabeth Cresent, North Star Garden Estate, Lokogoma, FCT Abuja, trading as WatchTheVotes ("we", "us"). They cover your use of app.watchthevotes.com, our public pages, our API, and our SMS and email services (together, the "Service").

By creating an account, ticking the sign-up box, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy at https://app.watchthevotes.com/privacy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. What WatchTheVotes is, and what it is not

1.1 WatchTheVotes is a non-partisan, citizen-run parallel record of polling-unit results in Nigeria. Volunteers photograph the official Form EC8A result sheet posted at their polling unit and enter the figures, so that the public can compare them with the figures published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

1.2 WatchTheVotes is an independent citizen-observation platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for INEC, and its figures are unofficial. Under the Electoral Act 2026, only INEC's presiding, collation and returning officers announce results and declare winners. WatchTheVotes does not announce or declare election results, and does not declare or project winners. Our figures can contain mistakes. Always rely on INEC for official results.

1.3 WatchTheVotes volunteers are not INEC officials, accredited election observers, security agents or party agents because they use our Service. Do not claim to be any of these on our behalf.

2. Who can use the Service

2.1 You must be 18 or older, and live in or be a citizen of Nigeria to volunteer as a Vote Protector.

2.2 You must give accurate information when you register and keep it up to date. One person, one account. Don't create accounts for anyone else or share your account.

2.3 Volunteer accounts need our approval. We can approve, refuse, suspend or remove a volunteer at our discretion, for example to protect the integrity of the count. Where we can, we will give a reason, and you can ask us to look again.

2.4 Independent participation. You take part as an individual citizen. You confirm that you are not submitting results on behalf of, or under the direction of, any political party, candidate or campaign, and that you will not use WatchTheVotes to campaign. We may suspend accounts that breach this section.

3. Volunteer code of conduct

When you act as a Vote Protector, you agree to:

At the polling unit

(a) Obey the law, INEC's Regulations and Guidelines, and the lawful instructions of INEC officials and security agents.
(b) Never obstruct, delay or interfere with voting, counting or collation. Keep a respectful distance and do not argue with officials or voters.
(c) Photograph only the result sheet after it has been posted publicly (or as INEC rules allow). Never photograph a voter's ballot, a marked ballot paper, or anyone inside a voting cubicle. Never use your phone in a way that breaches the secrecy of the ballot.
(d) Not wear or display party clothing, badges or campaign material, and not campaign, within or near the polling unit.
(e) Put your personal safety first. If there is violence or a threat, leave and report it later through the incident tool when you are safe. No upload is worth your safety.
(f) Not offer or accept money or anything else to influence a vote, a result, or what you upload.

On the Service

(g) Upload only photos you took yourself, of the real result sheet at the polling unit you were approved for, on the day.
(h) Enter figures exactly as they appear on the sheet, even if you think the sheet is wrong. If the sheet looks altered, illegible or inconsistent, say so in the notes or flag it. Don't "correct" it.
(i) Check any figures the app pre-fills (including figures read automatically from your photo) against the sheet before you submit. You are responsible for what you submit.
(j) Not post hate speech, threats, harassment, incitement to violence, or other people's private information, in comments or anywhere else.
(k) Not use the Service to campaign for or against any party or candidate.

4. Accuracy and anti-falsification rules

4.1 Falsifying results is forbidden and may be a crime. You must not:

submit a fabricated, edited, digitally altered, staged, or recycled photo, or a photo of a different polling unit, election or race;
enter figures you know to be false, or deliberately mis-key figures;
fake your location, use GPS-spoofing tools, or upload from somewhere you are not;
run multiple accounts, use another person's identity or voter card, or coordinate with others to submit false or duplicate uploads;
use bots, scripts or automated tools to submit, vote, flag, comment or create accounts;
deliberately flag accurate results as disputed, or brigade comments or flags;
tamper with, probe or try to bypass our verification, moderation, consensus or anti-fraud systems.

4.2 We check uploads using moderation, comparison between multiple uploads, location and time checks, content hashes and statistical tests. These checks flag uploads for human review. A flag is a reason to check, not an accusation.

4.3 If we reasonably believe you have broken these rules, we may reject your uploads, lower your trust score, suspend or remove your account, keep the evidence, and, where the law requires it or a serious offence may have occurred, report the matter to INEC, the police or other authorities.

4.4 Section 124(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 makes it an offence to announce or publish an election result knowing it to be false. Other laws, including the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, may also apply to false information.

5. Electoral-law compliance and how figures are presented

5.1 No declaration ahead of INEC. You must not use WatchTheVotes content to announce, declare or imply the winner of any election, or to present citizen figures as the official result, before or after INEC declares. When you share our content, describe it accurately, for example: "Unofficial citizen figure from the posted result sheet at PU 12-34-56-789. Not an INEC declaration."

5.2 How we present figures. Our pages label citizen figures as "unofficial", show them per polling unit and next to INEC's figure where available, and say how many uploads support them. We do not project winners. We do not publish citizen party totals above polling-unit level (for example ward, LGA, state or national totals) until INEC has declared the result at that level. Before then, above polling-unit level we publish only coverage figures (for example how many polling units have reported) and discrepancy counts (how many polling units' citizen figures differ from INEC's).

5.3 Polling day. You must not use the Service, including share cards and comments, to publish material promoting or opposing a party or candidate in the 24 hours before polling day or on polling day (Electoral Act 2026, section 100).

5.4 Discrepancies. A difference between a citizen figure and INEC's figure is a finding to check, not proof of fraud. Don't present it as proof of wrongdoing by any named person. Use formal channels (INEC, petitions, accredited observers) to challenge results.

6. Your content and the licence you give us

6.1 "Your Content" means photos, videos, figures, notes, incident reports, comments and feedback that you submit.

6.2 You keep any rights you have in Your Content. Form EC8A itself is an official INEC document. We claim no ownership of it.

6.3 So that we can run a public, verifiable and lasting record, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable licence (including the right to sub-license to partners, researchers, media, courts and tribunals) to host, store, copy, reproduce, crop, blur, redact, adapt for display, analyse (including by automated tools), publish, distribute and archive Your Content in connection with the Service, election transparency, research, and legal proceedings. The licence survives if you close your account, because the public record depends on it. Your personal data is still governed by the Privacy Policy: for example, we de-link your identity from your uploads on the schedule in that policy.

6.4 To the extent the law allows, you agree not to assert moral rights (such as the right to be named as the photographer) against us or our licensees for uses within this licence. We do not publicly credit uploaders by name, to protect your safety.

6.5 You confirm that you have the right to grant this licence, and that Your Content does not break the law or anyone else's rights.

7. Moderation

7.1 We may review, verify, reject, label (for example "disputed" or "rejected"), blur, redact, hide or remove any content, and we may correct how figures are categorised. Public counts include only tallies that have a stored photo. Disputed and rejected tallies may stay visible, with a label, but are not counted.

7.2 Moderators follow written guidelines. They cannot verify their own uploads, and their actions are logged.

7.3 Comments are moderated. We may remove comments that break these Terms, and we may rate-limit or suspend commenters.

7.4 Reporting and appeals. To report content, or to appeal a moderation decision about your upload or account, use the in-app report or flag tool, or email info@watchthevotes.org. On election days we prioritise contested polling units, so replies may take longer.

7.5 We do not have to monitor all content and are not responsible for content posted by users, but we will act promptly on valid reports and lawful orders.

8. Fair use and security

Don't: scrape the Service beyond what our published API allows; overload or attack our systems; test for vulnerabilities without our written permission (report vulnerabilities to info@watchthevotes.org); access accounts or data that aren't yours; or reverse-engineer the Service except as the law allows.

9. SMS, email and alerts

We send sign-in codes by SMS (and later WhatsApp or email). Alerts and nudges are sent only if you opt in, and you can stop them at any time (reply STOP, or use the unsubscribe link or settings). Your mobile network may charge you for messages and data.

10. Disclaimers

10.1 The Service is provided "as is" and "as available", free of charge. Citizen figures are collected by volunteers and may be incomplete, delayed, mistaken or deliberately falsified by bad actors despite our checks. Automated readings and statistical findings can be wrong. INEC figures shown on our pages come from INEC sources (such as IReV) and may be delayed, incomplete or changed by INEC.

10.2 Nothing on the Service is an official result, legal advice, or a statement that any person has committed an offence. Don't make legal, financial, safety or other important decisions relying only on our figures.

10.3 We don't promise the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available on election day. Networks often fail at polling units. Use offline upload, and keep your own copy of your photo.

11. Limitation of liability

11.1 Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Nigerian law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or your rights under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 or the NDPA.

11.2 Subject to 11.1, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, or loss arising from reliance on citizen figures, from INEC data, or from content posted by other users.

11.3 Subject to 11.1, our total liability to you for all claims relating to the Service is limited to ₦100,000.

11.4 You agree to reimburse us for reasonable losses and legal costs we incur because you deliberately broke these Terms or the law (for example, by submitting falsified results).

12. Suspension and ending your account

You can close your account at any time in settings or by emailing info@watchthevotes.org. We may suspend or close accounts that break these Terms or put the integrity of the count or other people's safety at risk. Sections 4.3, 6, 10, 11, 13 and 14 continue after your account ends.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

14. Disputes

14.1 Talk to us first. Email info@watchthevotes.org with "Dispute" in the subject. We will try in good faith to resolve it within 30 days.

14.2 Mediation. If that doesn't work, either side may refer the dispute to mediation at the Abuja Multi-Door Courthouse under its rules. Each side pays its own costs, and we will pay the centre's fees for individual volunteers.

14.3 Courts. If mediation fails within 60 days, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has jurisdiction (the Federal High Court where the subject matter falls within its exclusive jurisdiction). Either side may seek urgent court relief at any time, for example to stop falsification or a security attack.

14.4 Nothing here stops you complaining to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms, for example to reflect changes in the law or the Service. We will show the new version in the app. For material changes, you will need to accept the new version before you continue using volunteer features (we use a versioned acceptance screen). Your earlier uploads stay under the version that applied when you made them, except that safety and anti-falsification rules apply immediately.

16. General

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. Failure to enforce a right is not a waiver. You may not transfer these Terms; we may transfer them to a successor organisation that continues the Service. These Terms, the Privacy Policy and any notices you accept in the app are the whole agreement between us about the Service. Translations may be provided. If they conflict, the English version controls.

17. Contact

SciTun Technologies, MM2 B Elizabeth Cresent, North Star Garden Estate, Lokogoma, FCT Abuja · info@watchthevotes.org · Data protection (DPO): privacy@watchthevotes.org