Methodology
How we classify evidence, and what we refuse to infer.
- 01
Discovery is not ingestion
A catalogue entry means we found and described a source. It does not mean its records are held, loaded or checked here. Counts on this site count catalogue entries only.
- 02
Unknown means unaudited
Where the matrix has no entry, we have not looked. We never read an empty cell as an absence of data.
- 03
Evidence before inference
Every source carries its findings, its limitations and an audit evidence link, so a reader can check our reading against the original.
- 04
Neutral on links
Ownership, procurement or finance links between entities are leads for inquiry. They never establish causation, intent or wrongdoing, and we do not present them as such.
- 05
No invented data
Every candidate and party record comes from a named INEC document, with its page, archive copy and SHA-256 fingerprint. No donation, spending or result figures are published yet.
- 06
As printed, never corrected silently
Names, ages and qualifications are shown exactly as INEC prints them, surname first. Where a value cannot be right, such as an age printed as 947, we keep it and add a visible data note instead of guessing.
- 07
Same rules for everyone
Every candidate gets the same card, the same page and the same monitoring schedule. Lists sort alphabetically by default. We do not rank candidates, score them or predict results.
- 08
Local by default
Saved sources are stored only in your browser on this device. There are no accounts and nothing is sent anywhere.
Classifications in use
Verification
- SINGLE_SOURCE
- UNKNOWN
- VERIFIED
Source status
- ACCESSIBLE
- DISCOVERED
- INGESTED
- PARTIALLY_ACCESSIBLE
- REQUIRES_REGISTRATION
Coverage status
- PARTIAL
- UNKNOWN
Evidence badges
Each record shows what kind of evidence supports it. The kind of source and how well a fact is established are separate questions, so a badge comes with a plain-language confidence label: High-confidence official record, Multiple-source corroboration, Single credible report or Unverified public claim. We do not show confidence as a percentage.
- Official
- Published by a government body, such as INEC, in an official document or record.
- Campaign disclosed
- Published by the candidate, campaign or party itself.
- Platform data
- Disclosed by a platform such as the Meta Ad Library. Spend is usually a range.
- Observer data
- Reported by an election observer or monitoring group.
- Media reported
- Reported by a news outlet. Not confirmed by an official record.
- Estimated
- An estimate by a researcher or monitor, not a declared figure.
- Alleged
- A claim or allegation that has not been proven.
- Court confirmed
- Found by a court in a judgment or order.
Money is never added across kinds of evidence
A declared donation, a reported pledge, an observed expense and a platform's ad-spend range measure different things. We show them side by side and never add them into one total. A pledge stays a pledge until payment is documented.
Tracking levels
Full tracking campaigns (presidential, and governorship once INEC publishes the list) are checked against the same sources on the same schedule. Roster races (Senate and House) list every candidate from INEC's notice; activity is added when found but is not actively monitored. A quiet roster page is not evidence of an inactive campaign.
Corrections
Candidates, parties, campaigns, researchers and members of the public can challenge any record by citing a document. Corrections are logged with the record and earlier values are kept, so changes are never silent. Send corrections, with a link to the supporting document, to hello@openpolls.africa.
Scope
Nigeria only, electoral cycles from 1999 to 2027. Expansion across Africa is planned; it has not begun and nothing on this site should be read as covering another country. INEC's 2027 pages are checked daily for changes, and every change is reviewed by a person before anything on this site is updated.