Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") are an agreement between you and elect.ng ("we", "us", "our"). They apply whenever you visit or use elect.ng, its mobile apps or any of our services (together, the "Service"). Please read them carefully. By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy and our Community Guidelines.

1. Who can use the Service

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
• You must give accurate information when you register and keep it up to date.
• You may hold only one personal account. Organisations, parties and campaigns may hold official accounts operated by authorised people.
• You may not use the Service if we have previously suspended you permanently, or if the law prohibits you from doing so.

2. Your account and security

• You are responsible for everything that happens on your account. Keep your password private and turn on two-factor authentication in Settings.
• Tell us at once at support@elect.ng if you believe someone else has accessed your account.
• You must not sell, rent, transfer or share your account, or create accounts by automated means.

3. Identity verification and badges

• Identity verification is optional. You can verify with your National Identity Number (NIN), your Nigerian international passport or your Permanent Voter's Card (PVC). When you verify, you confirm that the ID you submit is yours and that the details you provide are true.
• Submitting someone else's ID, a forged or altered document or false details is prohibited, will lead to permanent suspension and may be a criminal offence under Nigerian law.
• Each person may verify only one account. An ID can be linked to only one account, and using a different ID to verify a second account is not allowed.
• Verification badges for candidates, parties, journalists, observers and organisations are granted at our discretion after a review of supporting documents. Some badges carry a fee, which is shown before you apply. A badge confirms identity only; it is not an endorsement.
• We may remove a badge or verification if the information turns out to be false, if the role ends, or if the account breaks these Terms.

4. Content you post

• You own the content you post. By posting it, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, display, reproduce, adapt (for example, resize images) and distribute it as needed to run and promote the Service. This licence ends when you delete the content, except where it has been shared by others or must be kept under section 6 or the law.
• You are responsible for what you post. You confirm that you have the rights to it and that it does not break any law or anyone else's rights.
• Public posts can be seen, shared and quoted by anyone, including search engines and people without an account.

5. Rules of conduct

You must follow our Community Guidelines. In particular, you must not:

• post hate speech, threats, incitement to violence or content that harasses or bullies others;
• publish false information about when, where or how to vote, or about voter eligibility;
• upload fake, altered, staged or reused result sheets or evidence;
• offer, request or arrange money, gifts or favours in exchange for votes;
• impersonate INEC, a security agency, a party, a candidate or any other person or organisation;
• publish anyone's VIN, phone number, home address or private documents without their consent;
• run paid political promotion outside our ads system;
• spam, use bots, scrape the Service without permission, or try to break, overload or get around our security; or
• use the Service for anything unlawful, including anything prohibited by the Electoral Act 2022, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 or the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

6. Election results, incidents and evidence

• Results shown on the Service come from result-sheet photos uploaded by users, accredited observers and agents, from public datasets, and from INEC publications. Each result shows its source and status.
• Only INEC declares official election results. Results marked "unconfirmed" or "platform-verified" are not official declarations, and you should not rely on them as such.
• When you upload a result sheet or incident report, you confirm it is genuine and that you took it or have the right to share it.
• To protect the integrity of the public record, result submissions, evidence and incident reports stay on the Service after you delete your account, but your name is removed from them.
• Historical results are taken from independent, open datasets and are labelled as such. We do our best to keep them accurate but cannot guarantee that they are free of transcription errors.

7. Wallet and payments

• You can top up a wallet in Naira to pay for ads, badges and other paid features. Payments are processed by licensed payment providers such as Paystack and Flutterwave; we do not store your card details.
• Wallet balances are not bank deposits, do not earn interest and can only be used on the Service. They cannot be transferred to other users.
• Prices are shown in Naira and include Value Added Tax (VAT) where it applies.
• If you believe a payment was taken in error, contact support@elect.ng within 30 days. Refunds of unused wallet balances are made to the original payment method at our discretion and in line with the law.

8. Advertising

• Anyone may promote content through our self-serve ads system, subject to our Political Advertising Policy.
• All ads are reviewed before they run. We may reject, pause or remove any ad. Unspent budget on a rejected or stopped ad is returned to your wallet.
• Political ads are labelled "Sponsored political content", show who paid for them and can be listed in our public Ad Library if the advertiser chooses.
• Political ads pause automatically during the campaign-silence period set by law before polling day.
• You are responsible for the content of your ads and for making sure they comply with the law, including the Electoral Act 2022 and advertising regulations.

9. Donations to candidates

• Donations go to the candidate's verified campaign account. We are a technology platform, not a party to the donation, and we do not endorse any candidate.
• By donating you confirm that you are a Nigerian citizen, that the money is your own and lawfully earned, and that your total donations to a candidate are within the limits in the Electoral Act 2022. Foreign and anonymous donations to candidates are not allowed.
• A platform fee of 3% is deducted to cover payment processing and compliance, and is shown before you pay.
• Donation records are kept for audit and may be disclosed to INEC or other authorities where the law requires.
• Donations are generally non-refundable once passed on to the campaign, except where the payment was unauthorised or the law requires a refund.
• Candidates who receive donations are responsible for declaring them and meeting all their legal reporting obligations.

10. Civic points and rewards

Civic points and badges recognise helpful civic actions such as verifying your account, reporting accurate incidents and submitting genuine result sheets. They have no cash value, cannot be sold or transferred, and are never given in exchange for supporting a party or candidate. We may change the rewards programme, and remove points gained through abuse or by breaking these Terms.

11. Moderation and enforcement

• We may remove or hide content, add context labels, limit features, or suspend or close accounts that break these Terms, our Community Guidelines or the law.
• We apply the same rules to every party and candidate. Every moderation action is logged.
• If you think we made a mistake, you can appeal by replying to the notice you receive or by writing to support@elect.ng.
• We may share information with law enforcement or INEC where the law requires it or where there is an immediate risk to someone's safety.

12. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, logos and the elect.ng name, belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by law. You may not copy, modify or use it except as these Terms allow. Election data that is public by law, such as candidate lists and INEC results, remains free for everyone to use.

13. Third-party services and links

The Service links to and works with services run by others, such as payment providers, maps and analytics. Their own terms and privacy policies apply, and we are not responsible for them.

14. Availability and changes to the Service

We work hard to keep the Service available, especially on election days, but we cannot promise that it will always be uninterrupted or error-free. We may add, change or remove features at any time.

15. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". Content posted by users, candidates and parties reflects their own views, not ours. To the fullest extent allowed by law, we make no warranties about the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any user content or unofficial result.

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent allowed by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, data or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or ₦50,000. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Nigerian law.

17. Indemnity

You agree to compensate us for any claims, losses or costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your content, your ads, your donations, or your breach of these Terms or the law.

18. Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time in Settings. We may suspend or close your account if you break these Terms or if we are required to by law. Sections 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15 to 20 continue to apply after your account ends.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is significant, we will tell you by email or on the Service at least 14 days before it takes effect. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms.

20. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If a dispute arises, please contact us first at solitech@elect.ng so we can try to resolve it informally. If it is not resolved within 30 days, either party may refer it to mediation, and then to arbitration in Lagos under the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023, or to a court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria.

21. Contact us

Questions about these Terms: solitech@elect.ng
Help with your account: support@elect.ng