How YEGO observes, records and verifies

1. Principles

YEGO is an independent citizens observation initiative. The methodology exists to make one promise keepable: that anything YEGO publishes as verified has earned that description.

Five commitments govern every stage of the process.

• Observe, do not interfere. Observers document what happens. They do not administer elections, direct voters, handle electoral materials or act on any authority other than their own citizenship.
• Non-partisanship without exception. No candidate, no party, no platform, no endorsement, in the field, in reports, or on personal social media while identified with YEGO.
• Verification before publication. A field report is a claim. It becomes verified information only after human review. The distinction is displayed wherever the information appears.
• Respect for institutional mandates. YEGO shares findings through appropriate channels and respects the independent mandates of INEC, security institutions and other public authorities.
• Accountability in both directions. Every verification decision, deployment and escalation is recorded in an audit log. YEGO holds itself to the standard it applies to the process.

2. What observers record

Observation follows the sequence of the polling day itself, so that nothing is recorded out of order and nothing is assumed.

Opening

Arrival of officials and materials, time of opening against the published schedule, presence of party agents and security personnel, and the state of the polling unit environment.

Accreditation and voting

Functioning of the accreditation system, queue management, presence of any interference or inducement, and any obstruction of observers or voters.

Counting

Ballot accounting, the count itself, announcement of figures at the polling unit, and the treatment of any disputed ballots.

Collation and transmission

Recording and transmission of results, and any irregularity in the movement of results from the polling unit upward.

A structured report is filed for every assigned polling unit, not only for units where something went wrong. Without it, absence of reports cannot be distinguished from absence of observation.

3. Reported is not verified

Every piece of information in the YEGO system sits at one of three levels, and the level is always visible to whoever is reading it.

• Reported Submitted by an observer or member of the public. Unreviewed. Presented as a claim, never as a finding.
• Under review Assigned to an authorised officer. Corroboration and evidence are being sought. Still not a finding.
• Verified Reviewed by an authorised officer against the evidence and corroboration standard.

4. The verification workflow

Verification is a human process with recorded steps, not a status flag. Five stages, in order.

1. Intake. A report is received through ERART or by an officer on behalf of a reporter who cannot use it. It is timestamped and attributed.
2. Triage. An officer assigns severity and category, and identifies whether the report indicates risk to people. Anything indicating risk to life or safety is escalated immediately.
3. Corroboration. The report is checked against independent accounts, other reports from the same location, and any evidence attached. A single uncorroborated account does not meet the standard.
4. Decision. An authorised officer records the outcome — verified, not verified, or unable to determine — together with the reason.
5. Publication or referral. Verified information may be published. Anything suggesting an offence or an ongoing risk is referred through the appropriate institutional channel rather than published first.

Officers may not verify reports in which they have a personal interest, and verification of reports concerning an officer's own polling unit or ward requires a second reviewer.

5. Evidence handling

• Never intervene to obtain evidence. Safety outranks documentation.
• Record what is visible from where you may lawfully stand. No entry into restricted areas and no handling of electoral materials.
• Preserve context. Time, location, and what was directly observed versus reported by others are recorded separately.
• Protect the people in the evidence. Images and identities of private individuals are restricted to the officers who need them for review.

6. Escalation and referral

• Immediate risk to life or safety is escalated at once to the appropriate authority through ERARM, ahead of publication and ahead of full verification.
• Electoral irregularities are referred through recognised institutional and civil-society channels.
• Patterns across reports are compiled and shared as analysis rather than as individual incidents.

YEGO does not publish allegations of criminal conduct against named individuals. It reports what was observed, where, and when.

7. Neutrality and conduct

• No display of party insignia, colours or campaign material at any time.
• No public commentary on candidates or parties while identified as a YEGO guard.
• No acceptance of inducement, and no conduct that could be read as support.
• No use of the YEGO mark or credential for personal, political or commercial purposes.

Breaches are handled through the disciplinary process, and a guard may be suspended or decertified. Suspensions are recorded in the audit log alongside the reason.

8. Limitations

• Coverage is not uniform. Absence of reports from an area is not evidence that nothing occurred there.
• Verification is constrained by access. Where an officer cannot corroborate a report, the honest outcome is “unable to determine”.
• Citizens observation complements, and does not replace, accredited observation.
• This document is a framework, not an approved handbook. The printable methodology and code-of-conduct documents remain subject to YEGO approval.

Read the FAQ Public resources