After a day travelling and three days of briefings and preparation it is time for the STOs to do their job. It’s as well to have an alarm clock because an STO and his partner arrive at the first polling station between an hour and thirty minutes before it opens – typically at 7.00 am.
The previous day the team will have reconnoitred their area and worked out an itinerary to visit as many polling stations as practicable. The stations are chosen by the STOs with no guidance or interference by any other party. As part of their training STOs will know how to complete forms evaluating the procedures at the opening of a polling station, the conduct at stations they visit later and the closing procedures at the last polling station. It’s a long day as polling does not usually close until late in the evening and the STOs remain after the station has closed to observe the sealing of ballot boxes and their transfer to a counting centre.
Throughout the day STOs submit their reports electronically to their LTO team who pass them up the chain to the core team based in the capital. Observers observe and report. They do not offer advice, answer questions, interfere or intervene under any circumstances. In the unlikely event that a dangerous situation develops the STOs primary responsibility is for their personal safety. This takes precedence, thank goodness, over hanging around to report on developments.